Benjamin Netanyahu threatens Lebanon with “destruction and suffering” like in Gaza if it does not “liberate” itself from Hezbollah

The far-right Israeli Prime Minister is sinking ever deeper into ignominy. Tuesday October 8, Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Lebanon to know “destruction and suffering like what we see in Gaza” if the population of the country of the Cedar does not “liberated” not Hezbollah. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, denounced a « provocation ». “If this provocation were followed through, it would drag Lebanon, a country friendly to France which is already so fragile, into chaos. And this would pose even greater security problems for Israel than those which prevailed before the military operations in Lebanon.he warned, on France 2, recalling that “the situation in Lebanon is catastrophic”.

At least 41,909 Palestinians have lost their lives since October 8, 2023, at least a quarter of whom were minors. This summer, the scientific journal The Lancet published an article on the number of victims, claiming that it could well exceed 100,000. 150,000 residential buildings were razed, as well as more than 600 mosques, 200 public buildings, and 125 schools and universities. In one year, 699 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank were also killed. So this is the kind of threat of large-scale massacre that the Israeli Prime Minister is talking about.

Expanded ground offensive

This significant threat comes as Israeli forces expand their ground offensive in southern Lebanon. Monday October 7, one year to the day after Hamas’s attack on Israel, the army again bombarded most Lebanese regions and killed dozens of civilians. The Lebanese Ministry of Health denounced a « massacre » while “clearing of rubble continues in badly damaged buildings” et “a new war crime against firefighters and paramedics”.

The same day, Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue the fight until victory against Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas. “We eliminated (Hassan) Nasrallah”the leader of Hezbollah killed on September 27 in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut “and Nasrallah’s replacement and his replacement’s replacement”added the Prime Minister, without giving names.

The Israeli army, engaged since September 30 in a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, in addition to the bombings that have been raging since mid-September, announced Tuesday, October 8 that a fourth division had begun to be deployed there and was leading “limited operations” against Hezbollah in the southwest of the country, bordering the Mediterranean.

More than 2,000 deaths over the past year, including 1,100 in three weeks

“Members of our peacekeeping force in Lebanon [de la Finul] continue to fulfill their mandate to the extent possible”declared on X (ex-Twitter) the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, before recalling that “the mission is based on full respect of commitments by all parties”. “All the actorshe insists, must ensure safety and security” soldiers deployed by UNIFIL.

On Sunday October 6, the latter denounced operations by the Israeli army near one of its positions near the border village of Maroun Al-Ras, deeming them “extremely dangerous”. Hezbollah claimed to have called on its fighters not to intervene and not to endanger the peacekeepers. “We have continued contact with UNIFIL to make sure they don’t get caught in the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and us,” For his part, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, Nadav Shoshani, declared to the press.

Since the start of clashes a year ago between Israel and Hezbollah, more than 115 rescuers and firefighters have been killed, according to a report established by Agence France-Presse. In total, the number of victims now stands at 2,083 killed, more than half of them since mid-September, and 9,869 injured. More than a million people have been displaced.