Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip are advancing “according to the plan” and attacks on Hamas terrorists will only increase.
“The forces continue and advance according to the plan, and are hitting the enemy hard,” says Gallant during a meeting at the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba.
“The systematic attack on Hamas terrorists [expands] the achievements, it will continue and increase,” he says, according to remarks provided by his office.
Agence France-Presse’s Gaza City bureau was significantly damaged by a strike on the building, according to a staff member who visited as the Israeli military relentlessly pounds the territory.
AFP is the only one of the world’s three major international news agencies currently operating a live video feed from Gaza City, which has not been interrupted despite the damage.
The unmanned AFP camera broadcasting live 24/7 captured the moment of the strike, a few minutes before midday (1000 GMT) on Thursday.
An AFP employee who visited the office says an explosive projectile appeared to have entered the technician’s office in the bureau horizontally from east to west.
An Israeli military spokesman said the force had “checked (the report) multiple times.”
“There was no IDF (Israeli military) strike on the building” in Gaza, he told AFP.
The United States calls for Hezbollah not to “take advantage” of the Israel-Hamas war after the Lebanese terrorist group’s leader said “all options” were open.
“We and our partners have been clear: Hezbollah and other actors — state or non-state — should not try to take advantage of the ongoing conflict,” a spokesperson from the National Security Council says.
In his first speech since war broke out last month between Hamas militants and Israel, the head of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed Shiite movement, said the United States was “entirely responsible” for the ongoing Gaza conflict, and could prevent a regional conflagration by preventing its ally Israel’s attacks.
Asked for a response, the National Security Council spokesperson says: “We will not engage in a war of words.”
“The United States does not seek escalation or widening of the conflict that Hamas brought onto Israel,” the spokesperson says.
“This has the potential of becoming a bloodier war between Israel and Lebanon than 2006. The United States does not want to see this conflict expand into Lebanon.”
“The likely devastation for Lebanon and its people would be unimaginable and is avoidable.”
The Israel Defense Forces says one of its tanks shelled two Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile launch positions in southern Lebanon, close to the northern Israeli community of Yiftah.
The Lebanese terror group in recent weeks has fired dozens of missiles at IDF positions and Israeli towns along the border.
A joint statement from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Affairs Ministry calls on Israeli citizens to take additional precautions while traveling abroad, including avoiding outward displays of their Jewish or Israeli identities amid an uptick in antisemitic attacks around the world.
Israeli embassies, airports that take in flights from Israel as well as Jewish communities and religious institutions abroad “are a major target of antisemitic protest events and attempted attacks,” the announcement says.
Israelis are urged not to travel to neighboring countries as well as countries that border Iran.
Hassan Nasrallah says Hezbollah is not intimidated by American threats and by US forces deployed to the region.
“Since the outbreak of the war, the US has threatened to bomb us in Lebanon from its military ships in the Mediterranean. We are prepared for whatever scenario,” he says.
“If an all-out war breaks out, you Americans will pay with your ships, your aircrafts and your soldiers,” he threatens.
“Remember your defeats in Lebanon and Iraq, and your humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan. Those who defeated you in Lebanon in the 1980s are still alive and their children and grandchildren are ready to face you,” he claims.
“Your fleet in the Mediterranean do not scare us… We are ready to face the fleet you threaten us with,” Nasrallah says, addressing the US. “Whoever wants to prevent a regional war must quickly stop the aggression on Gaza,” he added.
Following up on previous statements in which he placed the blame on the US for backing Israel, Nasrallah says: “Only you Americans can end what is happening now in Gaza, since you started it.”
He praises Israel’s valiant soldiers, saying they are killing terrorists “around the clock” in Gaza, with close cooperation between the IDF’s ground and air forces.
Speaking even as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah issues a prolonged statement in Lebanon, Netanyahu warns Israel’s “enemies in the north” not to make the costly mistake of escalating the war. “You cannot imagine how much this will cost you.”Hassan Nasrallah warns Israel not to launch a preemptive offensive against the Hezbollah terror group he heads.
“I tell the Israelis, if you are considering carrying out a preemptive attack against Lebanon, it will be the most foolish mistake you make in your entire existence,” he warns.
“What we have done since October 8 is unprecedented in terms of our fighting strategy. Every day, we have been targeted Israeli soldiers, tanks, drones and sensors, the eyes and ears of Israel. We have been engaged in a true battle. The amount of our martyrs — 57 — testifies to this,” he says.
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