Israel Hezbollah live: Jason Clare condemns Israel’s bombing of schools, hospitals

Labor MP Jason Clare has accused Israel of failing to comply with international law as Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for the first time in 50 days. Follow live updates.

Labor MP Jason Clare has slammed Israel for failing to comply with the rules of war as they continue their relentless bombing in Lebanon.

“The bombing of schools and the bombing of hospitals, I think, are not complying with international law,” Mr Clare, who represents the western Sydney electorate of Blaxland, told ABC TV.

“Every country has a right to defend itself, but it also needs to comply with international law. For most of Australia they see a war on the other side of the world.

“For my community, the people that we see images of dying on our TV screens are often family or friends. And they’re asking for a little bit more compassion and a bit more understanding. They’re asking for the killing to stop, for the slaughter to stop, for the starvation of children to stop.”

A car destroyed in an Israeli airstrike sits surrounded by debris in the ancient city of Baalbek, home to the Roman temples. Picture: AFP

Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat that Lebanese people will see “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza”,the White House said this cannot happen.

“We cannot and will not see Lebanon turned into another Gaza,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“The suffering in both Gaza and Lebanon adds even greater urgency, as you’ve heard from us, to our efforts, certainly to end the conflicts and lay a foundation for lasting peace and security in the region.”

Lebanese women mourn during the funeral ceremony of five civilians who lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Khodor, in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Picture: AFP

It comes as Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for the first time in almost 50 days ahead of Israel’s planned retaliatory strike against Iran.

Vice President Kamala Harris also joined the call, which comes a day after embarrassing reporting of Mr Biden calling his ally a “son of a b*tch” and a “bad f*cking guy”.

Despite Mr Biden’s profanity laced tirade, the high-stakes talks between Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu were conducted “in a positive atmosphere”, according to an Israeli official quoted by Channel 12 News.

It was the first direct conversation between the two since August 21.

Mr Netanyahu was joined on the call by diplomatic adviser Ophir Falk, Military Secretary Roman Gofman, Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman, and deputy head of National Security Council Gil Reich.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that when Israel strikes back, Iran “won’t understand what happened to it, or how”.

Mr Gallant’s trip to the Pentagon to meet with the US Defence minister was cancelled at the last minute in the wake of Mr Biden’s derogatory comments.

Speaking to an intelligence gathering unit, Mr Gallant said Iran’s attack was “aggressive” but failed because they missed their targets.

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