Israel’s Netanyahu warns Lebanon of ‘destruction, suffering’ like Gaza
Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Lebanon could face “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” and claimed Israel has killed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s “replacement, and the replacement of his replacement”.
During a video address directed at the people of Lebanon on Tuesday, Netanyahu said: "You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.”
"I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end."
Netanyahu also claimed the Israeli forces had killed the successor to Hezbollah's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, but the Israeli military later said it could not confirm Hashem Safi Al-Din’s death.
He also said Hezbollah is “weaker than it has been for many, many years”.
However, Hezbollah has remained defiant despite three weeks of intense Israeli strikes and other attacks that Lebanese officials say have killed more than 1,400 people and displaced another 1.2 million.
Netanyahu’s stark warning came as the Israeli military deployed more troops to Lebanon and ordered people in southern coastal areas, and in areas of the capital Beirut’s southern suburbs, to evacuate.
Israeli police barred Al-Aqsa preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri from Friday prayers without explanation, triggering sharp condemnation over the unlawful restrictions on worship in occupied Jerusalem.
US Vice President JD Vance claimed that more humanitarian aid is now entering the Gaza Strip than at any time in the past five years. Palestinians, however, rejected this claim, confirming that Israel continues to impose restrictions on the entry of aid despite the ceasefire.
France has rejected a visa to prominent human rights advocate and Director-General of Al-Haq, Shahwan Jabarin, who was scheduled to address the European Parliament’s human rights committee in Strasbourg, a move that “undermining efforts towards accountability and advocacy for Palestinian rights.”