Israel on Friday stood firm on the need for a new and expanded phase of its almost year-long war with Hezbollah as the UN warned of catastrophe and the US called for diplomacy.
“Our goals are clear; our actions speak for themselves,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also underscored that point in a separate statement, explaining, “We will continue pursuing our enemies in order to defend our citizens - even in the Dahieh in Beirut.
“The series of operations in the new phase of the war will continue until we achieve our goal: ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant stated.
They spoke as Israel pivoted in the direction of a military solution to return the more than 60,000 Israelis to their homes in northern Israel, a move that appeared to mark a sharp break with the Biden administration.
The region was braced for retaliatory escalation after the IDF claimed it killed ten senior Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Ibrahim Aqil, leader of the movement's Radwan special forces unit, during a targeted airstrike in Beirut.
"This elimination is intended to protect the citizens of Israel," an army spokesperson said in a brief statement to the press, adding that Israel was not seeking regional escalation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israel’s actions in Lebanon this week could spark a regional war in comments delivered by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“We are very concerned at the heightened escalation across the blue line, including the deadly strike we saw in Beirut. Today,” Dujarric told reporters.
“We urge all parties to de-escalate immediately. All must exercise maximum restraint. We also urge the parties to immediately return to the cessation of hostilities and to fully implement [UN] Security Council Resolution 1701. The region is on the brink of a catastrophe."
“All efforts should be made to spare in urgently pursuing diplomatic activity. All efforts should focus on urgently finding a diplomatic activity,” Dujarric stated.
The UN Security Council held a special session on the Israeli-Lebanese crisis on Friday in New York.
UN's António Guterres only shows that he's the Secretary-General of the Arab world
How do you pursue diplomacy with the likes of Hezbollah? The UN failed to enforce Security Council Resolution 1701 allowing Hezbollah to exercise no restraint in their attacks on Israel.
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