Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday he had instructed the military to prepare to “expand” its operations in Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out strikes against Hezbollah, the Iran‑backed Shia movement.
“The Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) and I have instructed the Israeli army to prepare to expand its operations in Lebanon,” Katz said.
“I warned the President of Lebanon (Joseph Aoun) that if his government does not manage to control its territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening communities in northern Israel and firing on Israel, we will seize territory and do it ourselves,” he added.
Iran-Hezbollah coordinate missile, rocket, drone attacks
Israel also said Hezbollah launched on Wednesday night its “widest” attack on Israeli territory since the start of the war, carried out “simultaneously” with Iran.
“Last night Hezbollah coordinated a simultaneous attack with Iran, launching rockets and drones at cities and towns across Israel. Initial data indicate around 200 rockets and some 20 drones,” Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
“All this was combined with ballistic missiles launched by Iran at the same time,” he said, adding that it was “the largest barrage of rockets” fired by Hezbollah since the war began, even though only “two or three direct hits” were recorded.
Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had carried out a large‑scale rocket attack on Israel, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that Tehran had launched a “joint and comprehensive” operation with its ally Hezbollah targeting Israeli territory.
Death toll mounting
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on 2 March, when the Iran‑aligned Shia group attacked Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme religious leader Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, another Israeli strike overnight targeted the Beirut coastal district of Ramlet al‑Baida, where displaced people were sleeping in tents. Eight people were killed and 31 injured, according to an official toll.
More than 630 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began, and more than 800,000 have been displaced.
It was the third Israeli strike on central Beirut since the start of the conflict, following an attack on a hotel on Sunday and a raid on a flat on Wednesday.
Israel also struck the Aramoun district in southern Beirut on Wednesday. That area is not one of Hezbollah’s strongholds. Three people were killed and a child injured, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Sources: CNA, AFP, Reuters