- Netanyahu said in a video message shared online that Israel’s war is not with the Lebanese people but with Hezbollah, which is placing missiles in their homes, and vowed to remove those weapons to ensure the safety of Israelis.
- “I have a message for the people of Lebanon: Israel’s war is not with you, it’s with Hezbollah. For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It has put rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garages. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens. To protect our people from Hezbollah’s attacks, we must remove those weapons,” the Israeli prime minister said.
- Netanyahu said the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had warned the Lebanese people to stay away from danger and they should take it seriously. He urged that the Lebanese people should not risk their lives for Hezbollah.
- “Don’t let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Don’t let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon. Please, move away from danger now. When our operation is over, you can return safely to your homes,” Netanyahu said.
- The latest attacks come as violence has spread from Israel’s southern border with Gaza to its northern border with Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which rules Lebanon, has been exchanging gunfire with Israel in support of the Palestinian group Hamas since the war began.
- Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led health ministry estimated 492 casualties as of Monday night, including 35 children and 58 women. Health Minister Firas Abiad said at least 1,645 people were injured while thousands of families were displaced.
- The Israeli attacks, codenamed “Operation Northern Arrow” by the IDF, targeted southern and eastern Lebanon. Beirut also suffered a “targeted attack”.
- Yesterday’s attacks – the deadliest day of cross-border violence since the Gaza war began last year – were condemned by Arab countries and other global powers. They have urged Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the brink of all-out war, even though both are belligerent and refusing to cede an inch of space to each other.
- Ahead of the attacks, Hezbollah said yesterday it was in a “new phase” of the confrontation and had fired rockets at Israeli military targets in response to earlier Israeli attacks. On Friday, a similar attack in southern Beirut killed the commander of an elite Hezbollah unit.
- The cross-border violence follows a deadly series of explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon, which Hezbollah has blamed on Israel. At least 39 people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured in the blasts last week.
