Israeli tanks gather near Lebanon border as IDF carries out raids on dozens of Hezbollah targets
Israeli tanks have gathered near the Lebanon border as the IDF carries out raids on Hezbollah targets, two days after the death of the groups chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli tanks have gathered near the Lebanon border as the IDF carries out raids on Hezbollah targets, two days after the death of the groups chief Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israel Defence Forces attacked dozens of terrorist targets in the territory of Lebanon in the last few hours, the army said in a statement on Telegram today.
The statement said the strikes targeted buildings where weapons and military structures of the organisation were stored.
Israel attacked hundreds of Hezbollah targets in the last day, it added, as it aims to disable the group.
This weekend, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant held talks over the possibility of expanding Israels military offensive.
Tanks and troops were pictured on the border with Lebanon yesterday, and thwe IDF said three more battalions of reserve soldiers are being mobilised on top of the two brigades already sent to northern Israel.
It comes just a few days after Israeli strikes killed Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades. Israeli media reported that the military used 85 bunker-buster bombs in the attack.
Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, the Iranian elite forces deputy commander for operations, was in the bunker with the Hezbollah chief when the Israeli bombs hit and levelled several buildings, killing six and injuring nearly 100 people.
Israeli tanks have gathered near the Lebanon border as the IDF carries out raids on Hezbollah targets. Pictured: Israeli soldiers man tanks at a gathering point in northern Israel, yesterday
Netanyahu, pictured at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, said that Nasrallah he was the main engine of Irans axis of evil
Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (pictured in 2015) in strikes on Beirut
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Shiyah neighbourhood of Beiruts southern suburbs on September 28
Israeli army soldiers stand next to a mechanised vehicle while deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on September 28
Israeli soldiers stand next to and on their tanks at a gathering point in northern Israel as military forces continue to strike infrastructure sites of the Hezbollah organisation in Lebanon. Pictured yesterday
Smoke billows over Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, pictured yesterday
On Friday, an Israeli air strike on a suburb of Beirut killed Hezbollahs longtime leader Nasrallah, sparking fears of an all-out war in the region.
More than 700 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to health ministry figures, since the bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds began earlier this month.
Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.
Just two days ago, a series of devastating airstrikes on Beirut resulted in the death of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
And a few hours later, Houthi rebels claimed they fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing back in Israel.
Netanyahu was swift to shrug off the near-miss with an address to the nation shortly afterwards in which he justified Israels actions and said they had settled the score with the death of Nasrallah, a man he described as the arc murderer.
He also remained unrepentant after a series of IDF strikes on Friday and Saturday left Beirut a smouldering city and said Israel will continue to strike our enemies while continuing to press for the release of the more than 100 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Warning there would be more to come, Netanyahu defiantly said: There is no place in Iran nor the Middle East where the long arm of Israel cannot reach.
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon yesterday
Israel launched fresh strikes again yesterday after confirming the death of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah. Pictured: Large explosions witnessed over Khiam, Lebanon
Smoke pictured over the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beiruts southern suburbs yesterday
Houthi rebels claim they fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing back in Israel after a short visit to New York
Yemens Houthi militants shared a message on X that they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, just at the moment that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing
His comments came as air raid sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday afternoon, including in Tel Aviv, in the aftermath of the Houthi attempt.
Large explosions were heard after a missile was fired from Yemen and intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Yemens Houthi militants confirmed later that they had fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
They said the attack was timed to coincide with the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to the country on Saturday after addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
There has been no news of damage or casualties caused by the missile.
Shortly after 8pm on Saturday, sirens also sounded in the Jerusalem region following reports of a missile launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
It is understood a missile hit an area in the West Bank, sparking a fire near the Mitzpe Hagit outpost and causing power outages, Times of Israel reports.
Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chillingly vowed the killing of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander shall not go unavenged
Netanyahu had been in the United States on Friday to address the UN General Assembly.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement: The operation was carried out with a Palestine 2 ballistic missile.
The Yemeni armed forces – along with all the honourable and free people of the nation – continue to respond to the crimes of the Israeli enemy, and will not hesitate to raise the level of escalation in response to the requirements of the stage and participate in the defence of Gaza and Lebanon.
These operations will cease only after the cessation of the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.
The action came as Irans supreme leader chillingly vowed the killing of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander shall not go unavenged.
The IDF issued a statement on Saturday explaining that the strikes had targeted weapons manufacturing sites and routes being used to smuggle weapons into Lebanon from Syria
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is thought to have been moved to a secure location, said on Saturday that Nasrallah would be avenged and his path in fighting Israel would be continued by other militants, as he announced five days of mourning in Iran.
(Nasrallah) was not an individual. He was a path and a school of thought and the path will be continued, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement read on state television.The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged, he said.
Details that emerged on Saturday night suggested the IDF bombarded Nasrallahs command bunker with more than 80 bombs in an operation organised at the last minute.
It is understood the IDF had a use it or lose it moment in which to kill Nasrallah, who was in a bunker 50 metres underground, after intelligence reported he would soon move to a different location.
The IDF unrelentingly pounded the Hezbollah headquarters in Dahieh with a barrage of explosives over just a few minutes on Friday.
Analysts believe Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah, will become Hezbollahs next leader.
On Saturday night, Netanyahu gave an address in which he stood by Israels action in Lebanon, adding we are at a historic turning point.
He also described Nasrallah as the arc murderer and the main engine of Irans axis of evil.
This is the moment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the green light to unprecedented strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut, Lebanon, while still in New York
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, pictured at the UN Security Council meeting in New York this week, said he had spoken with Lebanons Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday
Netanyahu said: If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first. The state of Israel killed yesterday Hassan Nasrallah, the arc murderer.
We settled the score with the person who is responsible for the killing and assassination of so many Israelis and people of other nationalities, including dozens of Americans and French people.
He wasnt just another terrorist - he was the terrorist; he was the main engine of Irans axis of evil.
Him and his people were the architects of a plan to destroy Israel.
He wasnt only operated by Iran, in many case he operated Iran.
The Israeli premier went on to say that the devastating blows levelled at Hezbollah by the IDF proved not to be enough and that taking out Nasrallah became a necessity.
The elimination of Nasrallah is a necessary condition for the fulfilment of our goals and bringing an equilibrium to our regions, he said.
I gave the instruction, and he is no longer with us. All those who oppose [Iran], all these people today have hope. There is no place in Iran nor the middle east where the long arm of Israel cannot reach.
Elsewhere, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy repeated a plea for calm in the Middle East and said he had spoken with Lebanons Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed.
A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people, Lammy said.
Lammy twice called for a ceasefire earlier this week.
