Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week as Israel bombards Hezbollah targets.
ADVERTISEMENTIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that his nation is «winning,» further dimming hopes for an internationally backed ceasefire to halt the spiral into an all-out regional war.
Carrying two maps labelled «The blessing» and «The curse,» the Israeli leader turned his sights on Tehran, stating that «there is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East.»
The IDF will “continue degrading Hezbollah» until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border, he emphasised.
“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing … we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,» Netanyahu said.
“Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: enough is enough.”
Following Netanyahu’s speech, Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s heavily populated southern suburbs, and the blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital.
It was not immediately clear what the target was, according to reports from the scene.
The strike came an hour after thousands of people attended the funeral of a top Hezbollah commander who was killed the day before.
Tens of thousands on the run
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas since the war in Gaza began, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, a total of 1,540 people have been killed within its borders in that time — almost half of them during the last week as Israeli airstrikes devastated parts of the country.
Israel has dramatically escalated its assault on Lebanese targets, saying it intends to eliminate Hezbollah’s military capacities and senior Hezbollah commanders.
Top Israeli officials have threatened to repeat the destruction of Gaza in Lebanon if Hezbollah’s aerial attacks continue.
Incoming fire from Lebanon into Israel continued on Friday, with one man suffering wounds from shrapnel.
The Israeli military said four drones came across the border, but that all of them were intercepted. Earlier that day, another ten projectiles came into Israel from Lebanon, with some intercepted and others falling into open fields.
In the meantime, an overnight Israeli airstrike in Syria killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA.
ADVERTISEMENTThe US, the EU and other allies jointly called for a 21-day ceasefire, with Lebanon’s foreign minister welcoming the proposal and decrying Israel’s “systematic destruction of Lebanese border villages”.
Israeli military vehicles have been seen transporting tanks and armoured vehicles towards the country’s northern border with Lebanon, and commanders have issued a call-up of reservists.
