Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to intensify strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon to “crush” the armed group, according to a video released on Telegram on Monday night. “We are at war with Hezbollah, and we will intensify our strikes,” he declared, despite a ceasefire agreed with Lebanon last month that was recently extended.
Netanyahu said Israel’s military would not be taking its “foot off the gas. On the contrary, I said to step on the gas even more.” Shortly after his comments, the Israeli military announced it had launched attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and several other areas in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the announcement sparked an exodus of people from the southern suburbs of Beirut, a major Hezbollah stronghold. The escalation came as Lebanon marked Liberation Day, commemorating the departure of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation in 2000.
The order also came amid daily strikes on southern Lebanon. A barrage of Israeli attacks was reported on the districts of Tyre and Nabatieh, killing four people and injuring three in the town of Kfar Reman. Several strikes targeted the al-Midan neighbourhood in Nabatieh, damaging residential buildings and a Shia Muslim community centre.
Israeli aircraft dropped incendiary phosphorus munitions on forests in Qlailah municipality, causing fires in citrus groves and farmland. Phosphorus munitions ignite on contact with oxygen, and their use in populated areas is widely condemned.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health says 3,185 people have been killed by Israel since it entered a state of open war with Hezbollah on March 2. Early Monday, the Israeli army said a soldier was killed by a drone strike “during combat” in southern Lebanon, and another was severely injured.
Two of Netanyahu’s far-right ministers called on him to resume bombing Beirut in response. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “For every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for cutting electricity in Lebanon, conquering the Dahiyeh, and returning to an “intense war.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com