Netanyahu warns Lebanon of destruction like Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister urged the Lebanese people to get rid of Hezbollah and avoid “the destruction and suffering that we see in Gaza.”

Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal on Tuesday came as Israel expanded its invasion against Hezbollah by sending thousands of additional troops to a new area in southwestern Lebanon. Its army said 50 Hezbollah members were killed in air strikes on Monday.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that 36 people were killed and 150 others were injured in Israeli attacks during the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets towards the Israeli port of Haifa for the third day in a row, wounding 12 people.

Netanyahu said during a video speech addressed to the Lebanese people: “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering as we see in Gaza.

“I say to you, people of Lebanon: liberate your country from Hezbollah until this war ends.”

Netanyahu also claimed that the IDF killed the successor to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

He said: “We have weakened Hezbollah’s capabilities, and we have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, Nasrallah’s replacement, and his replacement.”

Hashem Safi al-Din, a senior Hezbollah official widely expected to succeed his cousin Nasrallah as leader, has not been heard from since an Israeli air strike targeted him in Beirut last Thursday.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday evening that he could not confirm that Safi al-Din was killed in the attack, adding that he was studying the results of the operation.

Hezbollah has remained defiant despite three weeks of intense Israeli strikes and other attacks that Lebanese officials say have killed more than 1,400 people and displaced 1.2 million others.

Earlier on Tuesday, Nasrallah’s former deputy, Naim Qassem, insisted that Hezbollah had overcome recent “painful strikes” from Israel and that its capabilities were “good.”

Israel launched its offensive after nearly a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of Israeli border areas who were displaced by Hezbollah missile, missile and drone attacks.

Hostilities have steadily escalated since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of the Palestinians on October 8, 2023, the day after its ally Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel.

The Israeli army announced Tuesday morning that reservists from the 146th Division began “limited, local and targeted operational activities” in southwest Lebanon.

It joins three permanent military divisions operating in the central and eastern regions of southern Lebanon since the start of the invasion on September 30 – bringing the total number of soldiers deployed to more than 15,000.

The Israeli army said that its forces took control of what it called a Hezbollah “combat compound” in the border village of Maroun al-Ras and published photos showing what it said was a loaded rocket launcher in an olive grove, as well as weapons and equipment inside it. Residential building.

Meanwhile, drone footage showed widespread destruction in the nearby village of YaronWhich was the initial target of the invasion.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the UN peacekeeping force warned in a joint statement that the humanitarian impact of the conflict is “nothing short of catastrophic.”

The Lebanese government says up to 1.2 million people have fled their homes over the past year. There are approximately 180,000 people in approved centers for displaced people.

In addition, more than 400,000 people have fled to war-torn Syria, including more than 200,000 Syrian refugees – a situation the head of the UN refugee agency described as “tragic absurdity.”

The World Food Program said there was “unusual concern about Lebanon’s ability to continue to feed itself” because thousands of hectares of agricultural land had been burned or abandoned.

The Israeli military also said that its planes carried out a new round of strikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburb of Beirut, where the group has a strong presence, and other areas in Lebanon on Tuesday.

Earlier, it was announced that a strike in the capital on Monday led to the killing of Hezbollah headquarters commander Suhail al-Husseini.

Hezbollah did not comment on this allegation. But if confirmed, it would be the latest in a series of harsh blows Israel has dealt to the party, with Hassan Nasrallah and most of its military commanders killed in recent similar strikes.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader said in a defiant televised speech from an undisclosed location on Tuesday that its leadership and control are “strong” and that it has “no vacant positions,” pointing to its attacks on Israel in recent days.

Naeem Qassem said: “We are harming them and we will prolong the time. Dozens of cities are within range of resistance missiles. We assure you that our capabilities are good.”

But, for the first time, he did not refer to ending the war in Gaza as a precondition, as Hezbollah had previously said that it would not stop attacking Israel until the conflict in Gaza ended.

“We support the political efforts made by (Lebanese Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berri for a ceasefire,” Qassem said in a televised speech.

“Once a ceasefire is reached, diplomacy can consider all the other details.”

It was not clear whether this meant a change in Hezbollah’s position.

The speech coincided with the launching of more than 100 missiles towards Haifa Bay, as well as the regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Galilee.

The Israeli army said that most of the missiles were intercepted. There were no serious injuries.

On Sunday night, there was a direct strike on Haifa – something that has not happened since the last war Israel and Hezbollah fought in 2006.