TOPSHOT – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nat (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran that there is “nowhere in the Middle East Israel can’t reach” in a fiery warning ahead of what could be a full ground invasion of Lebanon.
Israeli special forces earlier today initiated daring raids inside Lebanon, signalling a potential ground offensive aimed at eradicating Hezbollah’s rocket and missile units.
Netenhahu slammed Tehran, who provides financial support to Hezbollah, accusing the Iranian leadership of edging the nation towards disaster.
He said: “Every day you see a regime that subjugates you, makes fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza. Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war.”
A formidable assembly of hundreds of Merkava tanks has been reported at Israel’s northern frontier, with Israeli bombardments striking central Beirut for the first time in many years.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking on Monday, alluded to Israel’s groundwork for a possible land incursion into Lebanon.
Addressing members of the 188 Armored brigade and the Golani Infantry brigade stationed along the northern border, Gallant remarked, “The elimination of Nasrallah is a very important step, but it is not everything. We will use all the capabilities we have.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Image: PA)
He added: “If someone on the other side did not understand what the capabilities mean, it is all capabilities, and you are part of this effort.”
Following Friday’s catastrophic bunker-buster bombing run which targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s subterranean hideout in a Beirut suburb, the 64 year old was killed. Nasrallah, previously referred to as the ‘Shia bin Laden’, is thought to be succeeded by his cousin, the new Hezbollah chief Hashem Safieddine.
Hezbollah’s second-in-command has declared that Hezbollah is ready for a protracted war.
Naim Kassem stated that if Israel opts for a ground offensive, Hezbollah stands prepared to fight and protect Lebanon.
As the acting leader of Hezbollah until Nasrallah’s successor is selected, deputy secretary-general Naim Kassem is now at the helm. Despite the loss of Hezbollah’s top military commanders in recent months, Kassem confirmed that Hezbollah is depending on new commanders.
He stated: “Israel was not able to affect our (military) capabilities. There are deputy commanders and there are replacements in case a commander is wounded in any post.”
NABATIEH, LEBANON – SEPTEMBER 30: Smoke billows from the area as a result of the Israeli army’s atta (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
An Israeli airstrike struck an apartment in a multistory building in central Beirut, resulting in the death of three Palestinian militants. This marks the first strike in central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict.
In a separate incident, an Israeli airstrike early Monday claimed the lives of six individuals, including two sisters and a child, in central Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
In the past week, Israel has repeatedly targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, including a major strike on Friday that claimed the life of Nasrallah. Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s acting leader, warned in a televised statement that their fighters are prepared if Israel opts for a ground offensive.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that Sunday’s airstrikes resulted in at least 105 fatalities across the country. Strikes were reported in central, eastern and western Bekaa, the south, and Beirut by Lebanese media.
Israel maintains its targets are militants, but civilian residences have been hit by the strikes, and the death toll is anticipated to rise. The Lebanese army, already strained due to an ongoing economic crisis, has remained on the sidelines during the conflict.
Palestinian medical officials reported that an Israeli airstrike killed six people, including two sisters and a child, in central Gaza early Monday. The strike targeted a family home in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Awda hospital.
Hospital records show that the deceased include a man, his two daughters and a grandchild. Earlier on Monday, an Israeli strike on a house in the central town of Deir al-Balah resulted in the deaths of two children and their parents.
Israel maintains that it only targets militants, attributing civilian casualties to Hamas due to the group’s operations within residential areas. The military seldom comments on specific strikes, which frequently result in the deaths of women and children.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, a minimum of 41,615 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war’s inception. The conflict erupted on October 7, when militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, resulting in 1,189 fatalities, predominantly civilians.
