Israel airstrikes Lebanon, US, UK urge all sides to exercise restraint

The White House issued a statement affirming the need for an immediate diplomatic solution, and the British government called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing that the US government was "frightened and concerned about the potential for escalation".

Thursday’s airstrikes followed a series of other attacks this week that Lebanon and Hezbollah blamed on Israel. Thousands of pagers exploded, killing 37 people and wounding about 3,000 in Lebanon.

In an operation late Thursday, the Israeli military said its warplanes struck hundreds of rocket launchers in southern Lebanon over a two-hour period after they were being prepared to fire missiles at Israel.

The bombing campaign included 52 separate air strikes carried out after 18:00 GMT across southern Lebanon, Lebanon's national media agency NNA said. Three Lebanese security sources said it was the largest air campaign since the conflict began in October 2023.

There are no reports of casualties yet.

The Israeli military vowed to continue its attacks on Hezbollah and said Thursday's air strikes hit 100 rocket launchers and other targets in southern Lebanon.

In a televised address on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the paging device explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday had “crossed all red lines”.

"The enemy has ignored all norms of control, law and morality," he said, adding that the attack "could be considered a war crime or an act of war."

Israel has not commented directly on the pager and radio attacks. Some security sources have suggested that the attacks were carried out by the country's Mossad intelligence agency, which has a history of carrying out sophisticated attacks in other countries.

In a letter to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Lebanon's ambassador to the UN claimed that Israel was behind the paging device explosions, detonating them with text messages and explosives before they were shipped to Lebanon, matching theories that have circulated since the explosions.

The 15-member Security Council is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the blasts. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on the Security Council to take a firm stance to stop Israel's "aggression" and "technological warfare."

Israel vows Hezbollah will pay 'increasingly high price'

As Mr Nasrallah's speech aired, shock waves from Israeli aircraft continued to rock Beirut, sounds that have become a daily occurrence in recent months and have become more noticeable as the threat of widespread war grows.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said late Thursday that Israel will continue to carry out military operations against Hezbollah.

"In this new phase of the war, Israel will have new opportunities as well as new risks. Hezbollah feels punished and military operations will continue," Yoav Gallant said in a speech.

"Our goal is to ensure the safe return of northern Israeli communities to their homeland. Hezbollah will pay an increasingly high price."

Israeli television channel Channel 13 News said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had convened the cabinet for consultations.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said.

"Painful blow"

Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel a day after the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Since then, there have been repeated exchanges of fire between the two sides. Although neither side has allowed these clashes to escalate into full-scale war, the attacks have led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Mr Nasrallah said Hezbollah hoped Israeli troops would flood into southern Lebanon because this would give the Iran-backed group a "historic opportunity".

He affirmed that no military escalation, massacre, assassination or declaration of all-out war would allow Israeli civilians to return to the border area.

According to Lebanese state media, on Thursday, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, asserted that Israel will face "a strong response from the axis of resistance." The axis of resistance refers to a coalition of pro-Iranian militias including Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis, Hamas and many armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

Speaking in Paris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged restraint from all sides, saying he did not want to see an escalation that could make a ceasefire in Gaza difficult to achieve from any side.

The attack on Hezbollah's communications equipment has led to widespread fear in Lebanon, with many people throwing away electronic devices for fear they may be carrying bombs in their pockets.

Mr Nasrallah said thousands of messaging devices were detonated simultaneously, with some explosions occurring in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, shops and streets crowded with civilians, women and children.

Israel says its conflict with Hezbollah, like its war with Hamas in Gaza, is part of a broader regional confrontation with Iran, which sponsors both groups and arms movements in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Israel has been blamed for a number of assassinations including a blast in Tehran that killed a Hamas leader and another in a Beirut suburb that killed a senior Hezbollah commander within hours of each other last July.

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/israel-khong-kich-lebanon-my-anh-hoi-thuc-cac-ben-kiem-che-204240920094448657.htm