Israel-Hamas war: Israel targets Hezbollah in Lebanon strikes; US vows ‘ironclad’ support
The US has vowed an “ironclad commitment” to Israel, which has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of “large-scale” attacks by Hezbollah. Follow updates.
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The United States has affirmed its commitment to Israel’s defense was ironclad and that it was “postured” to support its ally after the Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had launched strikes in Lebanon to prevent a major attack by Hezbollah.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant about Israel’s defense against attacks by the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said.
“Secretary Austin reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” Ryder said in a statement.
A Pentagon spokesperson added in a separate statement that the United States has “been very clear” that it “is postured to support the defense of Israel.”
Gallant announced a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency in Israel from 6am Sunday after the military launched what it called pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon.
The Israeli defense ministry said Gallant had briefed Austin on the situation.
“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel,” Gallant told Austin, according to a statement.
US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said “senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts” at the direction of President Joe Biden, who was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”
“We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,” Savett said in a statement.
Hezbollah issued a statement on Sunday announcing large-scale drone and rocket launches targeting deep into Israeli territory in retaliation for the death of its military commander in an Israeli strike last month.
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ISRAEL TARGETS HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON STRIKES
The Israeli military is conducting pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon after detecting preparations for “large-scale” attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The military also warned Israelis to expect incoming missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, with air alert sirens sounding across the country’s north.
Hezbollah issued a statement shortly after announcing a large-scale operation.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency. “The declaration on the state of emergency enables the IDF (Israeli military) to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant,” Mr Gallant said, in a statement issued by his office
The Middle East has been on edge for weeks after Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed a senior commander of the group as well as the assassination in Tehran of Hamas’s political leader, also blamed on Israel.
In a message addressed to the residents of southern Lebanon early Sunday morning, the Israeli military said: “We are monitoring Hezbollah’s preparations to carry out large-scale attacks on Israeli territory near your homes. You are in danger. We are attacking and eliminating Hezbollah threats.
“Anyone who is near areas where Hezbollah operates should leave immediately to protect themselves and their families,” the message posted on Telegram said.
In a separate statement, the military said its jets were striking targets in Lebanon “that posed an imminent threat” to Israelis.
Announcing the strikes in a video released at the same time, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that “Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory”.
“From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the south of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians” he added, urging civilians there “to move out of harm’s way”.
“Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region into a wider escalation.”
Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport announced that flights were being delayed and diverted, while the country’s emergency service group said was raising its level of alert.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel last year.
HOSTAGE DEAL TALKS UNDERWAY
An Israeli delegation holding hostage-ceasefire talks in Cairo is said to be presenting a new proposal that would see a United Nations monitoring mission permanently deployed at several fixed points along the Gaza-Egypt border.
The European Union would have a mission at the Rafah Crossing along with the Palestinian Authority, according to the plan cited in the Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper.
IDF troops would gradually withdraw from the border, says the report.
Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement stressing that he would not agree to the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along the border between the Gaza Strip ad Egypt, or the placement of an international force there, according to The Times of Israel.
It comes as the Israeli military killed a senior Palestinian militant in Lebanon on Wednesday local time, leading to accusations from the Fatah movement that Israel was trying to ignite a regional war.
The strike that killed Khalil Maqdah, described by Fatah as “one of the leaders” of its armed wing in Lebanon, came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a tour of the Middle East aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden called Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday and “made clear that we must bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure,” the president wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
LAWYERS URGE AUSTRALIA TO REVIEW TIES WITH ISRAEL
Over 100 Australian lawyers and legal scholars are urging Australia to reassess its economic relations with Israel in light of a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Last month, the ICJ declared that Israel’s ongoing occupation of territories seized in 1967, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is illegal.
The ICJ found that all countries were “under an obligation … not to render aid or assistance in maintaining” the illegal occupation.
So far, Australia has imposed sanctions on seven individual settlers and one entity.
However, according to a letter signed by more than 100 Australian lawyers and legal scholars, this step has been “insufficient”.
The open letter said Australia should act on its international legal obligations by imposing “at the very least, a comprehensive arms and energy embargo on Israel that covers the export, import and transfer of weapons, including parts, components and other dual-use items.”
The letter notes that the ICJ highlighted the impact of water management, city planning, infrastructure, and land policies in perpetuating Israel’s illegal practices.
“Australia must urgently suspend all investment, trade and scientific, technical and technological co-operation in these areas and engage in a systematic evaluation of all economic ties with Israel,” the letter said.
Signatories include international law experts Ntina Tzouvala of the Australian National University, Martin Clark of La Trobe and Sara Dehm of the University of Technology Sydney, and barrister Greg Barns SC.
The Israeli government has dismissed the ICJ ruling as “blatantly one-sided”.
BIDEN PRESSES NETANYAHU ON GAZA DEAL
President Joe Biden has pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas as talks on a truce stumble.
The US and Israeli leaders spoke hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a tour of the Middle East aimed at reaching an accord as tensions rise in the region.
In a statement on X, Mr Biden said he “made clear that we must bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles.”
Today I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding U.S. efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 21, 2024
I again made clear that we must bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo…
He also updated Mr Netanyahu on “US efforts to support Israel’s defence against threats from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups”, after Tehran threatened revenge for the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Iran.
The White House said separately in a readout of the call that the US president “stressed the urgency” of reaching a deal.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee to face Republican Donald Trump in November’s US election, also took part in the call.
Relations have been tense between the US and Israeli leaders, with Mr Biden calling on Israel to reduce civilian casualties.
HAMAS LEADER ASKS FOR PROTECTION
Hamas chief and October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, who previously claimed that it would be an honour to die fighting Israel, has made his own survival a condition of any ceasefire in Gaza.
A senior Egyptian official told Ynet, Sinwar allegedly emphasised that his safety must be guaranteed, and that Israel must not try to kill him.
“Sinwar insists on a guarantee that his safety and security are assured,” the official said.
BLINKEN URGES HAMAS TO ACCEPT CEASEFIRE AMID ISRAEL ROW
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken appealed to Hamas earlier this week to urgently accept a ceasefire plan and ease suffering in Gaza but also entered a public spat with Israel as he capped a new round of shuttle diplomacy.
The US Secretary of State closed his ninth wartime trip to the region in which he warned that the US-backed truce proposal may be the “last chance” to broker an end the conflict.
“Time is of the essence,” Mr Blinken said after stops in key Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt as well as Israel.
“With every passing day, more bad things can happen to more good people who don’t deserve it,” he told reporters before flying out of the Qatari capital Doha.
“This needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line,” he said of the truce proposal. The United States last week presented ideas to bridge gaps and, through Qatar and Egypt, has pressed heavily on Hamas to accept and return to talks this week in Cairo.
But a day after Mr Blinken said that US ally Israel was on board, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli media as disagreeing on a key sticking point.
BODIES OF SIX HOSTAGES FOUND IN GAZA
The Israeli army said it had retrieved the bodies of six hostages from Gaza’s southern area of Khan Yunis in a joint operation with internal security agency Shin Bet.
The hostages were Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, Chaim Perry, previously announced dead, and Avraham Munder, whose kibbutz of Nir Oz near Gaza announced his death on Tuesday.
Following intelligence and forensic analysis, the families of the dead hostages have been informed, the military said in a statement, without giving details of the operation in Khan Yunis.
The recovery of the bodies “provides their families with necessary closure and grants eternal rest to the murdered,” campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
The forum called on the Israeli government to ensure that the remaining hostages are also returned to Israel in a negotiated deal.
“The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalise the deal currently on the table,” it said.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States are urging Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire deal that would help secure the release of remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli kibbutz Nir Oz announced the death of Munder, 79.
“Kibbutz Nir Oz announces with great sadness the murder of the late Avraham Munder, 79, in captivity in Gaza after suffering physical and mental torture for months,” the community said in a statement.
– with AFP
Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Israel targets Hezbollah in Lebanon strikes; US vows ‘ironclad’ support
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