Israel vows continued strikes on Beirut despite US pressure

Last Friday, the Israeli government ordered the army to halt airstrikes on Beirut. This decision followed a conversation on Wednesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, during which Biden demanded a cessation of attacks on "densely populated areas", reports public broadcaster KAN. Like other members of the Israeli government, Netanyahu has previously denied reports of American pressure on this issue.

On Monday, during a visit to a military unit in Binyamin, which was attacked on Sunday by a drone belonging to Hezbollah, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his position: We will continue to relentlessly attack Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon, including Beirut, he said. In Sunday's attack, four Israeli soldiers were killed, and dozens were injured.

Netanyahu also dismissed allegations that Israel deliberately targets UN peacekeeping positions (UNIFIL) in Lebanon. The Prime Minister again called for withdrawing international forces from the region. In recent days, the Israeli military has repeatedly shelled and violated UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon, prompting criticism from the UN and countries participating in the mission, including Poland, France, and Italy.

For over three weeks, Israel has been conducting intensive airstrikes on Lebanon, while for nearly two weeks, it has been carrying out ground operations in the south of the country. The government in Jerusalem states that the military actions aim to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah, which Iran supports. The Shiite organisation controls southern Lebanon and has regularly shelled northern regions of Israel for over a year, prompting decisive counterattacks from the Jewish state.

According to data from the Ministry of Health in Beirut, since the start of the exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, over 2,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, and over 10,000 have been injured. Most of the fatalities have occurred in recent weeks. As a result of Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel over the past year, more than 50 people have died there.

According to the Israeli armed forces, military operations have killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters, including the organisation's leaders. The Israeli army also reports the destruction of a significant portion of the group's military capabilities. However, Lebanese media and authorities claim that most of the victims of Israeli airstrikes are civilians. The conflict has forced about 1.2 million of Lebanon's 5.5 million population to leave their homes.

Airstrikes on other areas of Lebanon also continued on Monday. In the town of Aito in the north of the country, at least 21 people were killed as a result of the Israeli operation. Media note that this region, mainly inhabited by Christians, had previously been overlooked by Israeli forces during attacks. In southern Lebanon, further clashes occurred between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters. Throughout the day, air raid warnings were announced in various areas of Israel, including Tel Aviv, due to shelling from Lebanon. At present, there is no information about Israeli casualties.

The Israeli Ministry of Defence informed Minister Yoav Galant spoke Monday night with U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. The topic of their conversation was a "decisive response" to Hezbollah's actions, including the deadly shelling from Sunday. The Israeli Air Force announced that it would obliterate the Hezbollah unit responsible for the drone attacks, reports the Times of Israel.