Israel expanding war with Hezbollah
Israel will pursue Hezbollah in Beirut, Damascus and beyond: Defence minister
Yoav Gallant has said the Israeli army will expand its campaign against Hezbollah, hours after Israel said it had killed a rocket commander of the group in southern Lebanon and separate attacks blamed on Israel that killed several Hezbollah fighters in Syria’s Aleppo.
“Israel is turning from defending to pursuing Hezbollah, we will reach wherever the organisation operates, in Beirut, Damascus and in more distant places,” the Israeli defence minister told the military’s northern command.
Hezbollah says Israeli air strikes killed six members
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has announced the deaths of six of its members.
On Telegram, the group announced the names of the killed members as Ahmed Jawad Shehimi, Mustafa Ahmed Makki, Ibrahim al-Zein, Ali Muhammad al-Haf, Mustafa Ali Nassif and Ali Abdel Hassan Naeem.
The Israeli army conducted air strikes on a target in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo overnight, reportedly killing dozens of people. The Lebanese media said a separate attack was carried out on a car in southern Lebanon in the morning. Israel regularly hits areas in southern Lebanon and has occasionally attacked targets in Syria since the beginning of the war in Gaza
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemns Israel’s attacks in Syria
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned Israel’s air strikes on northern Syria’s Aleppo province earlier today, which killed at least 42 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the victims included six from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and 36 Syrian soldiers.
“These attacks are a clear violation of international laws and regulations, as well as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a serious threat to regional and international peace and security,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.
He added that the strikes were “a blatant and desperate attempt to continue and expand the crisis in the region”.Kanaani called on the international community and the UN Security Council to condemn the attacks and take measures to hold Israel accountable.
Veteran Israeli minister says ‘new ideas’ needed
After quitting Israel’s war cabinet, lawmaker and former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar says Israel should propose a new ceasefire plan that involves exiling Hamas leaders abroad.
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Sa’ar criticised the government’s war strategy as stale and ineffective and said, “The time has come for new ideas.
“We always return to the same ineffective ideas wrapped in bombastic statements that won’t lead to victory,” said Sa’ar, who leads Israel’s centre-right New Hope party and is a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Netanyahu. “We are stuck in every direction. We are stuck in Gaza. We are stuck on the Lebanese border. We are stuck with the hostages, and we are stuck in the international arena.”
By offering Hamas members the option to surrender and live in exile, Israel would be presenting an alternative to a Rafah invasion, Sa’ar said. In addition, Sa’ar said the Israeli military should take over the administration of aid in Gaza, and finish its operations in the enclave “as quickly as possible”.
“We can’t drag on the war forever,” he said.
