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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country has delivered “a series of blows” to Hezbollah in recent days that the group “could not have imagined.” In a video statement released by his office on Sunday, Netanyahu warned, “If Hezbollah hasn’t understood the message, I promise you — it will understand the message.” He emphasized Israel’s commitment to restoring security in the north, declaring, “We are determined to return our northern residents safely to their homes … We will do whatever it takes to restore security.”
Overnight, Hezbollah escalated its rocket attacks, targeting areas near Haifa, including the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel’s state-owned defense technology firm, as well as a military airport at the Ramat David base in northern Israel, according to Xinhua news agency.
Amid this sharp escalation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that the military would continue its offensive response. Speaking during a visit to an Air Force control center on Sunday morning, Gallant noted that Hezbollah “has begun to feel some of our capabilities,” referring to weekend airstrikes in Beirut that resulted in at least 37 deaths, including Ibrahim Akil, acting commander of Hezbollah’s Elite Radwan Force.
Israel is also believed to be responsible for a series of attacks earlier this week, which saw thousands of wireless communication devices explode across Lebanon, causing at least 37 deaths, including civilians, and injuring thousands more.
Additionally, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced he had spoken with “dozens” of foreign ministers, sending a clear message: if the international community does not pressure Hezbollah to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, “Israel will do so.” Katz emphasized that the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces is “essential” to create a security zone, enabling Israeli residents near the Lebanon border to return home.
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it is continuing airstrikes in Lebanon and has bombed 400 Hezbollah sites since Saturday. According to Lebanese military sources, at least three people were killed and four others injured on Sunday during intense Israeli airstrikes.
Amid fears that the cross-border fighting, which began in October last year, could escalate into an all-out war in the Middle East, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert warned of an “imminent catastrophe” in the region.
“With the region on the brink of an imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer,” she wrote on the social media platform X.
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