Israel strikes south Beirut after Netanyahu vows ‘no ceasefire’

Kathmandu: The Israeli military has launched strikes in south Beirut.

The Israel launched strikes in South Beirut on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of a ceasefire in Lebanon that would leave Hezbollah close to his country’s border.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s vow to keep fighting Hezbollah came as the United States ramped up pressure over Israel’s conduct of the wars in Lebanon and Gaza, criticizing the recent bombing of Beirut and demanding that more aid reach the Palestinian territory. In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said he was “opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was’ according to a statement from his office.

Netanyahu and the Israeli military have insisted there must be a buffer zone along Israel’s border with Lebanon where there is no presence of Hezbollah fighters. “Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this (a buffer zone) and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping the statement said. In a defiant televised speech, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said the only solution was a ceasefire while threatening to expand the scope of its missile strikes across Israel.

Early, Israel’s military said around 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the country’s north, without any reports of casualties on Wednesday. Iran-backed Hezbollah said it launched “a large salvo of missiles” at the town of Safed. Israel’s military bombed several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, including in the Bekaa Valley where a hospital in Baalbek city was put out of service, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported. It also said it had captured three Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon.

Likewise, Lebanon’s health ministry said nine people were killed Tuesday evening in strikes on the country’s south, and five others in the east, including three children.

RSS/AFP