Israel hits Lebanon’s Beirut, Bekaa Valley as Biden labels Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘son of a b*tch’

Israel has carried out deadly strikes in Lebanon’s ancient Baalbek, home to Roman temples, as Joe Biden launched a profanity-laced tirade against Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli forces launched a new wave of attacks on the Lebanese capital of Beirut as well as the eastern Bekaa Valley after a day of assaults that killed at least 36 people and wounded 150 others across the country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned Lebanon that it could face destruction “like Gaza”.

It comes as US President Joe Biden privately complained that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “bad f***ing guy” and a “f***ing liar” in a string of profanity-laced tirades, according to a new book.

A collapsed building destroyed by an Israeli air strike is pictured in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley. Picture: Nidal Solh

The stunning revelations threaten to drive a wedge between the two prime ministers as Israel continues its battle against Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.

Legendary journalist Bob Woodward’s latest book sheds new light on how the decades-long relationship between the leaders crumbled amid disputes over Israel’s strategy in the expanding war in the Middle East.

In a meeting in July, after an Israeli air strike killed a Hezbollah commander and three civilians in Lebanon, Mr Biden reportedly yelled at Mr Netanyahu: “Bibi, what the f***?”

“You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” the president told him.

US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Picture: AFP

Mr Netanyahu hit back, saying the target was a terrorist and that “the harder you hit, the more successful you’re going to be in the negotiation”.

This week, in an interview on 60 Minutes, Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped when asked whether Israel’s leader was a close ally for the US.

Mr Woodward’s book, titled War, detailed how Mr Netanyahu’s standing with his American counterparts spiralled after Mr Biden made a historic visit to Israel to embrace him in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack.

“That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad f***ing guy,” the president reportedly said earlier this year, as Israel’s offensive in Gaza intensified.

Mr Biden grilled him over his plans to send troops into Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where civilians were sheltering after being forced to flee their homes, telling him: “Bibi, you’ve got no strategy.”

Kamala Harris refused to call Benjamin Netanyahu an ally during her 60 Minutes interview. Picture: Supplied

“He’s a f***ing liar,” Mr Biden reportedly complained privately after Israel went in anyway.

He also told his aides that 18 out of 19 people who worked for Mr Netanyahu were “liars”.

Mr Woodward also revealed new details of how Mr Biden tried to tamp down Israel’s retaliation to Iran’s unprecedented missile attack on Israel in April.

The president had told the prime minister on a call to “take the win” and “do nothing”.

“I know he’s going to do something but the way I limit it is tell him to ‘do nothing’,” Mr Biden reportedly told his advisers, as he considered it a win that Mr Netanyahu responded with a limited strike on Iran.

FOLLOW UPDATES BELOW:

Originally published as Israel hits Lebanon’s Beirut, Bekaa Valley as Biden labels Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘son of a b*tch’