Israel’s army chief on Wednesday told troops to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while US President Joe Biden warned against a “full-blown war” in the Middle East.
“We have been attacking all day, in order to prepare the ground for the possibility of your entry, as well as to continue attacking Hezbollah,” Lt. Gen. Harzai Halevi told a tank brigade, in a statement from the army, as Israeli warplanes carried out hundreds of deadly strikes around Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military operation against Hezbollah would not stop until residents of the northern region safely return to their homes.
The Israeli warning came after Hezbollah said it had targeted the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad spy agency on the outskirts of Tel Aviv – the first time it has fired a ballistic missile since nearly a year of cross-border clashes sparked by the Gaza war.
Lebanon’s health minister said 51 people were killed and 223 wounded in retaliatory Israeli attacks, including in mountainous areas outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.
Israel said it attacked 60 targets in Lebanon, including hundreds of Hezbollah intelligence sites.
In Washington, President Biden warned of the possibility of “full-blown war” after Israeli troops were put on alert for a possible ground operation.
“A full-scale war is possible,” Biden told broadcaster ABC.
“I also think there’s still a chance that an agreement can be reached that could fundamentally change the whole region.”
Biden said there was a “possibility” of a ceasefire in Lebanon, but “I don’t want to overstate it”.
The United States is Israel’s main supporter, and Biden said on Wednesday that “full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest”.
Israel called up reserve soldiers
Cross-border clashes intensified on Wednesday following Israeli raids on Monday, killing at least 558 people. It was the deadliest day of violence in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war.
Nour Hamad, a 22-year-old student from the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, said he had been in a “state of terror” all week.
“We spent four or five days without sleep, not knowing if we would wake up in the morning,” he said.
Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv at dawn following Hezbollah’s unprecedented missile launch.
“The situation is difficult. We are feeling pressure and stress… I don’t think anyone in the world would want to live like this,” Hedva Fadlon, 61, a Tel Aviv resident, told AFP.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described Hezbollah’s attack on Tel Aviv as “deeply worrying” but added that “there is still time and space for a diplomatic solution to reduce tensions and prevent all-out war.”
The Israeli military said it struck “more than 280 Hezbollah” targets in Lebanon on Wednesday and that the attacks were continuing.
“The fighter jets attacked 60 terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Directorate,” the army said.
It added that two reserve brigades were being called up “for operational missions in the northern region,” adding that this would “help continue the fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
rebel netanyahu
The UN Security Council said it would hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in New York on Wednesday, as UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the situation was dire.
“We should all be concerned about this escalation of tensions. Lebanon is on the brink,” he said.
The United Nations International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday that 90,000 people had been displaced in Lebanon so far this week.
“Many of the more than 111,000 people displaced since October are likely to be secondarily displaced,” said a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Hezbollah confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had killed its rocket force commander Ibrahim Kobeissi in an attack on Beirut.
Netanyahu postponed his departure for New York until Thursday, where he is also scheduled to address the General Assembly.
The Israeli Prime Minister has defied international calls for restraint.
“We will continue to attack Hezbollah … whoever has missiles in his living room and rockets in his home will not get a home,” he said on Tuesday.
Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer, has condemned the Israeli attacks, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the recent killing of Hezbollah commanders would not destroy the group.
“Some of Hezbollah’s most effective and valuable soldiers were martyred, which undoubtedly caused damage to Hezbollah, but it was not the kind of loss that would bring the group to its knees,” he said.
The elusive ceasefire
While clashes have occurred almost daily along the Israel-Lebanon border for a year, violence escalated dramatically last week, when coordinated communications equipment explosions killed 39 people and wounded nearly 3,000, which Hezbollah blamed on Israel.
Israel then launched an airstrike on a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, killing a top military commander and other fighters and civilians.
Efforts to end the war in Gaza, which analysts say are crucial to preventing escalation of tensions in Lebanon, have yet to move forward.
Netanyahu has been accused by critics of obstructing Gaza ceasefire talks and prolonging the war to appease right-wing coalition partners.
The war in Gaza began with an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures, which also include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the 251 people held hostage by Hamas militants, 97 are still in Gaza, 33 of whom the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,495 people, most of them civilians, in Gaza, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations has described as credible.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
