As Netanyahu takes stage, large number of delegates leave UN hall

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage in the United Nations General Assembly hall, a large number of delegates could be seen leaving the hall.

Jeers could be heard as Netanyahu took the stage.

“I decided to come here and set the record straight,” Netanyahu said in his opening remarks, saying he wanted to defend against the “lies and slander” he’d heard.

Netanyahu claims Israel at war ‘for its life’

After the Israeli attacks kill more than 41,000 people in Gaza and 700 in Lebanon, Netanyahu tells world leaders at the UN that Israel must defend itself “against these savage murderers”.

“Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, they seek to destroy our common civilisation and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror,” he claimed.

The Israeli leader claims that Iran will endanger every country in the Middle East and many beyond.

“For too long, the world has appeased Iran. That appeasement must end and that appeasement must end now,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel can reach any part of Iran if Tehran attacks first.

“I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you,” he said. “There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East.”

Israel to continue war on Gaza until ‘total victory’: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at the UN that “Hamas has got to go” and would have no role in the reconstruction of Gaza as he pledged to fight until “total victory”.

“If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup … and attack Israel again and again and again … So Hamas has got to go,” he said.

Netanyahu also told world leaders that his nation will “continue degrading Hezbollah” until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border, further dimming hopes for an internationally-backed ceasefire to halt the spiral into an all-out regional war.

“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing … we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” Netanyahu said.

“Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns … How long would the American government tolerate that?” he said, shaking his fist in emphasis. “Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: Enough is enough.”

Netanyahu accuses UN of anti-Semitism

The Israeli leader says singling out his country is “a moral stain on the United Nations”, making the institution “a swamp of anti-Semitism”.

“I say to you, until Israel – until the Jewish state – is treated like other nations, until this anti-Semitic swamp is drained, the UN will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous farce,” he said.

He also spoke about the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, a UN body, against him and Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, linking the measure to anti-Semitism.

It would be great if Israel would be treated like other nations. Arms embargo, sanctions, peace keeping forces, ICC prosecution without interference. The US giving Israel impunity for many decades has led to this dangerous fanatic and his religious right wing cabinet to come to power.

Israel not defending itself but its occupation

Netanyahu has given a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, a body that earlier this month overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory within a year.

While his speech centred around Israel’s right to defend itself, Al Jazeera’s political analyst Marwan Bishara said the UNGA resolution, backed by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), made it clear that “Palestinians have the right to resist their occupiers”.

“Israel has no right to defend its occupation and dispossession of a majority of Palestinians that continue to live in refugee camps for eight decades,” Bishara said. “Israel claims to be defending itself when in fact it is defending its racism and its system of apartheid.”

The analyst added that the US administration gave Israel the green light to use self-defence as a rationale by drawing a parallel between Hamas’s October 7 attack and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It then went on to shield it, to arm it, to finance it and to defend it at the United Nations and that’s why we need to remember that Netanyahu has the arrogance to come to the UN and lecture the world, because the US supports him, a war criminal.”

Israel’s Katz says Netanyahu told ‘simple truth’ in UNGA speech

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz congratulated Prime Minister Netanyahu on his speech at the UN General Assembly saying he “presented the simple truth”.

“The Iranian regime and its terror proxies pose a danger to all nations of the free world, which must choose between a future of blessing and peace with the region or a future of curse and war against terror,” Katz said in a post on X.

“The State of Israel will continue to fight all its enemies until every hostage is returned, Hamas is destroyed, and the citizens of the north can return to their homes.”

Israeli army mobilises two reserve brigades to Lebanon border

The Israeli army says it has mobilised two reserve brigades to increase “the level of readiness in the northern arena” as it keeps striking neighbouring Lebanon. It said in a statement that the 6th and 228th Brigades were “mobilized for combat as part of the northern campaign in recent days”.

US Navy warships intercepted projectiles fired by Houthis: Official

US Navy warships going through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have intercepted a number of projectiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, according to a US official.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Reuters news agency, said that the projectiles included both missiles and drones and there was no damage to any of the three warships in the area. The official was citing initial information, which can change.

We reported earlier that the Houthis claimed to have targeted three US destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone.

4 buildings destroyed in Beirut blasts

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV says the air raids on the Haret Hreik district destroyed four buildings, turning them into a pile of rubble. The station said more than 15 missiles struck the area at the same moment.

Footage showed at least one smouldering crater at the site of the attack. The series of intense Israeli air attacks hit one of Beirut’s heavily populated southern suburbs as blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital.


_{Smoke rises after an Israeli attack in Beirut’s southern suburb}

Ambulances on the way to scene of Beirut attack

The series of blasts in southern Beirut sent clouds of orange-and-black smoke billowing in the sky of the capital. Ambulances headed to the scene of the explosions, sirens wailing.

Not long before the explosion, thousands were massed in the suburb for the funeral of three Hezbollah members, including a senior commander, killed in earlier attacks.

The attacks in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN, promising Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue.

‘Panic’ as multiple explosions rock Beirut’s Dahiyeh area

These were not the “precision” strikes we got used to over the recent days and weeks. This was different.

These were unprecedented, multiple, loud and successive explosions – really the loudest explosions that we have heard in the capital. We heard it across the city, and not just in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Israeli army spokesperson says they targeted the “central command headquarters” of Hezbollah. Now, there is no doubt this is an area where Hezbollah does have a presence. Their commanders have been killed in this area previously.

But this is also an area where hundreds of thousands of people live.

I can tell you there’s panic across the city. People are calling each other trying to make sense of what has just happened. There has been fear in recent days and a lot of people have already left from this area.

_{Lebanese soldiers walk over the rubble of leveled buildings following Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut.}

Lebanese Red Cross dispatches 10 teams to Beirut attack scene

An announcement did not say whether casualties were reported. It comes shortly after Israel’s military attacked the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. The air raids on the Haret Hreik district destroyed four buildings, turning them into a pile of rubble, local media says.

UN watching Israeli attacks on Beirut with ‘great alarm’

The United Nations says it’s alarmed by Israeli air strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. “The UN is watching with great alarm,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a briefing.

Witnesses said the attacks hit the densely populated Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, near the international airport. They described extensive damage in the area, with blocked roads preventing ambulances from reaching the wounded.

Israel erased complete residential block in Beirut’s Haret Hreik

The attack in Beirut’s Haret Hreik area has erased a complete block, around six to nine buildings were either completely or partially destroyed. We are talking about a residential block close to the international airport of Beirut.

For now, we don’t know how many people were killed. But when an attack with such huge explosives, huge rockets is launched towards a residential area, we will expect to see a large number of people killed.

What we know is that Israel has been working deliberately for the past weeks on hitting the southern suburb of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah commanders in different areas to dismantle the command chain of the group.

Now, they are saying that they have hit a command headquarters.

2 bodies pulled out after attack on southern Beirut

Lebanon’s civil defence agency says its teams are working on extinguishing multiple fires that erupted in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, and the bodies of two people were pulled from under the rubble following the series of blasts.

It said its teams are working on evacuating the wounded, without providing more details.

Resident describes ‘complete chaos’ following Israeli attacks

Al Jazeera spoke to a resident who witnessed the latest, multiple Israeli attacks that hit southern Beirut.

“I’m kind of in shock right now. I was coming back home from work, and suddenly it was like you’re surrounded by thousands of gas bottles, all exploding at once,” Hiba al-Ashkar, who lives in the Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp, told Al Jazeera.

“People were screaming, women screaming. It was complete chaos. There was smoke and fire everywhere. My mom broke down, too. At that moment, you don’t know what to do or what you’re supposed to do. Am I going to die now? It was horrible.”

_{Lebanese soldiers stand guard after multiple Israeli attacks hit the capital}

‘People don’t understand why this is happening’

The feeling here is Israel isn’t just fighting Hezbollah, it’s fighting the Lebanese population. Dahiyeh, home to about 700,000 people, has been heavily affected. Many believe these so-called “targeted strikes” are not precise.

People we spoke to in Dahiyeh on Thursday said Israel clearly shows no regard for civilian life in its efforts to “eliminate” Hezbollah members, despite the rising casualty figures.

People here are very angry at the actions of the Israeli army and government. They say this is now a full-scale war with tens of thousands of displaced people having lost their livelihoods. People don’t understand why this is happening or what the real purpose is.

Israel ‘does not care’ about calls for a ceasefire: PM

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s southern suburb show it “does not care” about efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

Mikati’s press office sent a statement while he was in New York for the UN General Assembly where the US and other countries made a call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel’s latest attacks on the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh destroyed four buildings in the Haret Hreik district. Rescuers are trying to evacuate the wounded to hospitals. Civil defence teams are working to put out multiple fires in the area.

‘Barbaric crimes’: Iran, Yemen see mass protests condemning Israel

Tens of thousands of people protested in Iran and Yemen to condemn Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza.

Demonstrators in Tehran and other Iranian cities responded to a call by authorities to rally in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon “and to condemn the barbaric crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine”, the official IRNA news agency said.

Protesters carried portraits of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Palestinian and Hezbollah flags. “Israel is destroyed. Lebanon is victorious,” they chanted, deploring “a bloodbath in Lebanon”.

In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, tens of thousands of chanting protesters waved rifles and placards.

“We say to our brothers in Lebanon that you will be victorious, God willing,” said Houthi supporter Mortada al-Mutawkil. “This war is not the first nor the last with the Israeli enemy. But God willing, it will be more painful for Israel than the 2006 war.”

‘What is Hezbollah waiting for?’

Ali Rizk, a Beirut-based security and political analyst, says the attack on Lebanon’s capital by Israel is “something we’ve never seen before”.

“Civilians here haven’t seen anything like this. This piles up the pressure on Hezbollah and many people are now asking, what is Hezbollah waiting for – why doesn’t it unleash a major attack on Israel?” Rizk told Al Jazeera.

He said that “Israel has taken out many of the military brains” of Hezbollah in attacks over the past year, but that will not make a difference if it launches a ground invasion of Lebanon.

“There are a lot of other military brains. I think the Israeli approach is to try and make Hezbollah collapse from above. But I think Hezbollah’s real strength lies at its base. And that base is represented by supporters, average fighters, and more importantly, by ideology.”

Hezbollah says direct hit on Israeli city of Safad with rockets

Hezbollah says it attacked the city of Safad, in northern Israel, with salvoes of rockets.

“In defence of Lebanon and its people and in response to Israel’s barbaric attacks on towns, villages, and civilians. A direct hit from a Hezbollah rocket was identified in [Safed],” a statement said.

Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom said it’s en route to the scene. Israeli police said “no injuries have been reported, but significant property damage has occurred”, adding “police officers and bomb disposal units are currently working to isolate the impact sites”.

In separate statements, Hezbollah said its fighters also struck the northern Israeli city of Karmiel and the Sa’ar kibbutz with dozens of rockets.

The attacks come shortly after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs in Lebanon, levelling six buildings in the Haret Hreik district. At least two people were killed and dozens wounded.

Israeli army says it ‘continues to attack’ Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including weapons launchers and storage sites, the military said.

The announcement came hours after it announced an attack against an area heavily populated with Lebanese civilians, claiming it was Hezbollah’s “command centre” in southern Beirut.


_{Rescuers arrive at the site of the Israeli air raids on Beirut on Friday}

Iran closely watching Israel’s attacks on ally Hezbollah

Iran-based journalist Tohid Assadi says the series of “devastating” attacks on Lebanon are seen by Iran as part of Israel’s attempt to “bring the resistance to its knees”.

“The Israelis are trying to expand the battlefield to Lebanese lands after their strategic failure in Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. “Iran is pretty much aware of this fact. It’s getting more and more dangerous.”

Asadi said Iran will back its “regional alliance”.

“We are certain, based on what we’re hearing, at some point Iran is going to provide the Israelis with a crushing response.”

Decisions in coming days will shape Middle East, Blinken cautions

While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defence, he stressed the importance of how it exercises that right.

“The events of the past week, and the past few hours, underscore what a precarious moment this is for the Middle East and the world,” Blinken said at news conference in New York. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. The way it does so matters.”

He also warned the decisions made by all parties in the coming days will shape the Middle East’s future.

“The choices that all parties make … will determine which path this region is on with profound consequences for its people now and possibly for years to come,” said Blinken.

The US has made clear along with the G7, the European Union, partners in the Gulf, and other regions “the way forward is through diplomacy, not conflict”.

Israeli army tells residents of Beirut suburb to evacuate

The Israeli military ordered residents of southern Beirut’s Dahiyeh area to evacuate shortly after it attacked the Haret Hreik district there, levelling six buildings.

In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said people who reside in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighbourhoods should leave their homes immediately and to keep away “for a distance of no less than 500 metres [1,640ft]”.

“You are located near Hezbollah interests and for your safety and the safety of your loved ones, you must evacuate the buildings,” said Adraee.



Iranian president calls Israel’s Beirut attack ‘state terrorism’

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian denounced Israel’s air strikes on Beirut. “Today’s attacks by the Zionist regime on the Dahiyeh region in Beirut are a clear and undeniable war crime,” Pezeshkian said in a statement.

He described Israel’s actions as a continuation of “state-sponsored terrorism”.

“The crimes committed by the Zionist regime against the people of Palestine and Lebanon are a sign of the international community’s inability to stop the machinery of state terrorism, proving this regime is the greatest threat to regional and international peace and security.”

The Iranian president called for a unified global response, particularly from Muslim nations, to “condemn this crime”.