• Biden, Netanyahu discuss response to Iranian attack; Tel Aviv vows attack will be ‘deadly, precise, surprising’
• Hezbollah says invading soldiers pushed back
• Sirens sound in Israel; Beirut’s southern suburbs bombed
• Scores of Pakistanis return; Turkish citizens to follow suit

JERUSALEM: The United States warned Israel on Wednesday against any Gaza-like military action in Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened it with “destruction” like that in the Palestinian territory.

But armed forces chief Herzi Halevi vowed to keep up Israel’s intensive bombing of Hezbollah targets, “without allowing them any respite or recovery”.

The comments came after a much anticipated phone call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, which had been expected to focus on Israel’s response to last week’s missile barrage by Iran.

The White House said the 30-minute call was “direct”, “honest” and “productive”.

“We’re going to continue to have those discussions with Israel on how they’re going to respond,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who had been due to discuss Israel’s response in US before the last-minute postponement of his visit, pledged: “Our attack on Iran will be deadly, precise and surprising.”

Iran fired some 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Biden has cautioned Israel against attempting to target Iran’s nuclear programme and is also against striking the country’s oil installations.

Two Israelis killed

Hezbollah said its fighters were locked in clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, using rocket-propelled weapons to repel Israeli attempts to breach the border.

Two people were killed by suspected Hezbollah rocket fire in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, while Israeli air defences also intercepted two projectiles fired towards the coastal town of Caesarea, officials said.

Lebanon’s health ministry said four people were killed in an Israeli strike on a village in the Shouf district.

Israel’s military said on Wednesday that 100 Hezbollah targets were destroyed.

Israeli operations have expanded from border areas in the interior to the southern section of Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast.

According to a new toll from the Israeli army, 13 soldiers have died since ground operations inside Lebanon began.

Israel was also extending its military operation around Jabalia in the north of Gaza, where around 400,000 people are trapped, according to the head of UNRWA.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli police killed four Palestinians in the city of Nablus, Palestinian authorities and Israeli army said.

Hezbollah fighters targeted Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh with artillery shells and rockets, the group said in a statement.

Hezbollah said it had pushed the Israeli troops back.

Sirens sounded in northern Israel in the morning, while Israel renewed bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight.

The Israeli bombardment has displaced roughly 1.2 million across the country.

Overnight, Israel again bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs and said it had killed a figure responsible for budgeting and logistics, Suhail Hussein Husseini.

The military said about 20 projectiles had been launched from Lebanon.

Pakistanis in Lebanon

A special flight arranged by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) evacuated 79 stranded Pakistanis from Lebanon on Wednesday.

The evacuees arrived at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.

Besides, the NDMA dispatched a consignment of three tonnes of essential medicines to Lebanon on the same chartered flight.

The aid package was a collaborative effort involving the NDMA, the Pakistan Army, and the Al-Khidmat Foundation.

Nearly 2,000 Turkish citizens and family members also prepared to leave Beirut on two Turkish navy landing ships on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024