Israel warned Lebanon of a “disastrous” fallout if it did not rein in Iran-backed Hezbollah, as it pounded the group’s strongholds around the country with air strikes and mounted a deadly airborne raid in the east.
Lebanon was dragged into the wider Middle East war on Monday when Hezbollah fired at Israel, which responded with a new military campaign that has killed nearly 300 people and forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes.
A Hezbollah flag is seen in front of buildings destroyed by heavy airstrikes in Nabi Chit, Lebanon. Getty Images
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, buildings lay in mounds of smoking rubble and twisted metal, Reuters footage showed.
Further east, in the town of Nabi Chit, a heavy Israeli bombardment after a rare Israeli airborne raid had punched craters into the ground, burying cars in mountains of dirt and launching one vehicle onto the roof of a two-storey building.
Israeli helicopters overnight dropped troops near the town, in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 41 people had been killed in the past 24 hours in Israeli attacks in the Nabi Chit area. The Lebanese army said three of its personnel were among the dead.
In Israel, air raid sirens warning of incoming rockets and drones, sent people fleeing to their shelters.
In a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was up to the Lebanese government to enforce the 2024 agreement to disarm Hezbollah.
“If you do not do this, Hezbollah’s aggression will result in disastrous repercussions for Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. “It is time for you to take your destiny in to your own hands.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that the Lebanese government and all of Lebanon would “pay a heavy price” if Hezbollah is not disarmed. Israel had no territorial claims against Lebanon but would not allow cross-border fire, Katz said.
Lebanon’s government instructed the army last year to establish a state monopoly on arms. Troops had confiscated Hezbollah’s weapons in parts of the south but senior Lebanese officials and security sources said pursuing the plan could cause internal tensions as the group had refused to give up its arsenals in full.
Israeli strikes have killed 294 people and wounded more than 1000 across Lebanon since Monday, the health ministry there said.
Reuters