The Israeli Prime Minister's office issued the statement in response to what it referred to as a 'completely false' local television report about US pressure on Israel
world1 week ago
Lebanese rescuers scoured a destroyed apartment building south of Beirut on Wednesday for bodies or any survivors after a deadly Israeli strike the previous evening, as exchanges of fire between Israel and armed group Hezbollah pressed on.
Hezbollah said it had fired a salvo of missiles on Wednesday at an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion Airport. Sirens sounded in northern and central Israel and Israeli media reported a rocket had landed near the airport.
The airports authority said it was continuing to operate as usual and Israel's leading airline El Al said none of its planes was damaged from rockets hitting near central Israel.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged hostilities for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war but fighting has significantly escalated since late September, with Israeli troops intensifying bombing on swathes of Lebanon's south and making ground incursions into border villages.
The strike on Tuesday on Barja hit a multi-storey apartment building on a hilltop, shearing off segments of the floors and exposing inner walls and staircases.
Lebanon's health ministry said just before midnight that the strike had killed 20 people and wounded 14, but said the toll could still rise.
Moussa Zahran, who lived on one of the upper floors of the building, returned on Wednesday morning to sift through the ruins of his home. His burned feet were wrapped in gauze and his son and wife were in hospital after being wounded in the strike.
"These rocks that you see here weigh 100 kilos, they fell on a 13 kilo kid," he said, referring to his son and the apartment wall that had collapsed onto him during the strike.
It was not immediately clear if the strike was targeting a member of Hezbollah. There was no evacuation warning ahead of the air raid.
On Wednesday, Israel's military carried out strikes on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh after issuing evacuation orders for specific neighbourhoods in the city. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon over the last year, the vast majority in the past six weeks. The Barja attack was among the deadliest single strikes.
Diplomatic efforts to reach a 60-day truce proposed by the US faltered last week, and Lebanese were fearful that the war could escalate further after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Israel Katz as his new defence minister.
Katz vowed on Tuesday to "defeat" Hezbollah so that people displaced from northern Israel could return home.
Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri — a Hezbollah ally and diplomatic interlocutor — met the US and Saudi ambassadors to Lebanon on Wednesday to discuss political developments, his office said, without providing further details.
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, meanwhile, congratulated the "president elect" in the US, without naming Donald Trump.
Netanyahu hailed Trump's election, while senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump would be tested on his statements that he can stop the Gaza war in hours as president.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office issued the statement in response to what it referred to as a 'completely false' local television report about US pressure on Israel
world1 week ago
Israeli President Isaac Herzog termed the United States as a 'true ally'
world1 week ago
'All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop', said the spokesman for the Secretary-General
world1 week ago
Indian agencies have uncovered a network that sold fake tickets or charged exorbitant prices for legitimate ones for both concerts
world1 week ago
Saturday's attack was one of the deadliest attacks in the area in recent months
world1 week ago
Satellite data from Brazil's space research agency Inpe showed that Bolivia had 70,628 fire hot-spots up until September 22
world1 week ago
According to airport authorities, flight operations will be halted starting 6:00 PM on Thursday
world2 weeks ago
Airport operations are currently impacted, and passengers should not come to the airport at this time, the spokesperson said
world2 weeks ago