Israel will continue targeting Hezbollah positions throughout Lebanon, including in the capital, Beirut, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.
“We will strike Hezbollah relentlessly everywhere in Lebanon — including Beirut,” he said in a video from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Golani Brigade Training Base, shared by the government press office.
This training base was hit Sunday evening by a Hezbollah drone launched from southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of four Israeli soldiers and injuries to more than 60 people.
Netanyahu offered condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and pledged to visit those who were wounded.
“Alongside the entire nation, I pray for their swift recovery. We are fighting on, paying a painful price, but achieving significant victories that we will continue to pursue,” he said.
Netanyahu’s comments follow reports that Israeli strikes on Beirut had paused in recent days due to emerging “understandings” between U.S. and Israeli officials, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Two Israeli strikes in Beirut on Thursday killed at least 22 people and injured over 100. While strikes on Beirut have since halted, they continue elsewhere in Lebanon, especially in the south.
European foreign ministers voice concern for UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom have expressed concern over the safety of UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon amid Israel’s ground incursion.
In a joint statement, the ministers condemned “unequivocally any threat to the security of UNIFIL,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, emphasizing that “any deliberate attack on UNIFIL violates international humanitarian law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.”
For context, the UN reported that, over the past week, Israeli forces have fired on peacekeepers, forcibly entered a UN base, halted a critical logistical movement, and injured more than a dozen UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon.
Israel, however, has accused Hezbollah of operating near UNIFIL posts. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon were in “harm’s way.”
In their statement, the European foreign ministers urged Israel and all parties involved to protect the safety and operational freedom of UNIFIL personnel. They also reaffirmed the importance of the UN’s role in resolving conflicts and reducing their humanitarian impact.
