New Delhi:

In a direct address to the people of Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a clear and forceful message on Monday. The Israeli leader’s speech, delivered in English and subtitled in Persian, conveyed both a warning to the Iranian regime and an assurance to its citizens. The message comes amidst Israel’s escalating actions against Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East.

Netanyahu condemned Iran’s leadership for allegedly prioritising regional conflicts over its own people’s welfare. “Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza,” Netanyahu said, adding that the Iranian government was “plunging the region deeper into darkness and deeper into war.”

Referring to Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, groups that have been engaged in violent conflicts with Israel, Netanyahu said that Iran’s proxies were being systematically targeted. “Iran’s puppets are being eliminated,” he said. adding that there was “nowhere we will not go to protect our people.”

“With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you – the noble Persian people – closer to the abyss,” he said. “The vast majority of Iranians know their regime doesn’t care a whit about them. If it did care, if it cared about you, it would stop wasting billions of dollars on futile wars across the Middle East. It would start improving your lives.

“Imagine if all the vast money the regime wasted on nuclear weapons and foreign wars were invested in your children’s education, in improving your health care, in building your nation’s infrastructure, water, sewage, all the other things that you need. Imagine that.”

Netanyahu predicted a future where Iran is free from theocratic rule, envisioning a new era of peace between Israel and Iran. He expressed confidence that change would come “a lot sooner than people think.” According to Netanyahu, a post-regime Iran would enjoy prosperity through global investments, tourism, and technological advancements. 

“When Iran is finally free – and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think – everything will be different,” he said. “Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace. Our two countries, Israel and Iran, will be at peace.

“When that day comes, the terror network that the regime built in five continents will be bankrupt, dismantled. Iran will thrive as never before: Global investment; massive tourism; brilliant technological innovation based on the tremendous talents that exist inside Iran. Doesn’t that sound better than endless poverty, repression and war?”

This direct message comes in the wake of Israel’s intensified operations against Iranian proxies. Days before Netanyahu’s statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) executed a major airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the group’s headquarters in Beirut. The strike also reportedly took the life of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official. Nasrallah’s death has been met with celebration by anti-regime Iranians worldwide.

“You deserve better. Your children deserve better. The entire world deserves better. I know you don’t support the rapists and murderers of Hamas and Hezbollah, but your leaders do. You deserve more. The people of Iran should know – Israel stands with you. May we together know a future of prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu added. 

Following Nasrallah’s assassination, reports surfaced that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was moved to a secure location amid fears of further Israeli action.

The tension between Israel and Iran reached new heights earlier this year when Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike in Syria that killed several high-ranking IRGC officers. The vast majority of those missiles were intercepted by Israeli defence systems, with the support of a US-led coalition. Israel responded to Iran’s actions with a limited drone strike targeting a nuclear research centre in Isfahan.

Nasrallah’s assassination also came amid Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has seen frequent cross-border attacks against Israel, allegedly in solidarity with Hamas during its ongoing war with Israel in Gaza. Israel has steadily escalated its strikes on Hezbollah targets, leading to significant losses within the group’s leadership. Earlier in the month, mysterious explosions attributed to Israel destroyed Hezbollah’s communication devices, injuring thousands and intensifying the ongoing conflict.
 

New Delhi:

Israel continued ferocious rounds of airstrikes on Hezbollah’s key strongholds in southern Beirut in Lebanon today. These strikes, which began last night in the heart of the capital city, sent plumes of thick smoke billowing into the sky, sparking fear and chaos in densely populated civilian areas. The operations marked Israel’s most intense strikes on Beirut since shifting its military focus from Gaza to Lebanon earlier this week.

The targets of these attacks were alleged Hezbollah strongholds scattered throughout Lebanon, with devastating consequences, including the deaths of hundreds of people. While Israeli television networks reported that Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was the primary target, a Hezbollah source, according to news agency AFP, later claimed Nasrallah was “fine,” though he has remained in hiding for years to evade assassination attempts. Nasrallah, who holds immense power in Lebanon, particularly among his Shiite supporters, is widely seen as the only figure capable of waging war or brokering peace.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that the strikes resulted in the deaths of Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, his deputy, and other senior officials of the Iran-backed militia. Ahmad Ahmad, a local resident who fled from his home in southern Beirut during the strikes, described the attack as feeling “like an earthquake”, as quoted by news agency AFP.

The strikes continued into a second bombing wave, during which Israel claimed to have targeted Hezbollah’s weapons depots stored within buildings in southern Beirut. Hezbollah denied this claim, while reports emerged of six buildings being levelled and 91 people wounded, with six confirmed dead. Following the strikes, Hezbollah retaliated by launching rockets into Israel, which prompted warnings from the Israeli military for civilians in Hezbollah strongholds to evacuate immediately.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, vowing that Israel would continue its military campaign against Hezbollah until the northern border was fully secured. He claimed that Israel has the right to defend itself, declaring that no reprieve would be given to Hezbollah, and hinting at a possible ground offensive in Lebanon.

Netanyahu also issued a stern warning to Tehran, accusing Iran of fueling the violence through its support of Hezbollah. “If you strike us, we will strike you,” Netanyahu warned, adding that Israel’s reach could extend throughout the Middle East if necessary.

As Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly, scores of diplomats walked out in protest. The devastating toll of the ongoing war in Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation, with more than 42,000 people reported dead in the besieged enclave. Entire neighbourhoods in Gaza have been reduced to rubble, with hundreds of thousands displaced. 

Nasrallah Targeted In Beirut 

The Friday evening Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut were unprecedented in scale, reportedly involving tens of tons of explosives. Hezbollah’s top officials were thought to be present at the underground headquarters that were bombed, though reports from Hezbollah claimed that Nasrallah survived the strikes. Despite the extensive destruction, with entire buildings flattened, there was no immediate confirmation of Nasrallah’s death, though speculation continued to swirl.

Israeli officials, however, expressed confidence that the strikes had seriously compromised Hezbollah’s command structure. In a televised statement, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed that the strike targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut. The IDF also revealed it had notified the US about the airstrikes while the operation was underway, but the United States was not involved.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in response to the Beirut strikes, condemned the attack as a “flagrant war crime,” further intensifying the already volatile situation.

The United Nations and international humanitarian organisations have sounded alarms over the deadly situation in Lebanon. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many fear that this is only the beginning,” said UN humanitarian coordinator Imran Riza, as quoted by news agency AFP. 
 

Golan Heights:

Ten people, including children, were killed in a rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel’s N12 News reported, the worst incident yet in months of violence between Israel and armed groups in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said the rocket was fired by Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group denied any involvement in the attack, which looked likely to draw a fierce response from Israel.

The Israeli emergency service said earlier that nine people were critically wounded by a rocket fired from Lebanon that hit a village football pitch in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. A medic described great destruction and fire at the scene.

“We witnessed great destruction when we arrived at the soccer field, as well as items that were on fire. There were casualties on the grass and the scene was gruesome,” said Magen David Adom medic Idan Avshalom.

A witness told Reuters: “It landed in the soccer pitch, all of them are children … many bodies and remains are in field we don’t know who they are.” She asked not to be named.

The attack on the soccer pitch followed an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed four operatives on Saturday. Two security sources in Lebanon said the four fighters killed in the Israeli strike on Kfarkila in southern Lebanon were members of different armed groups, with at least one of them belonging to Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted a military structure belonging to Hezbollah, after identifying a militant cell entering the building.

At least 30 rockets were then fired from Lebanon across the border, the military said.

“According to an IDF situational assessment and the intelligence in our possession, the rocket launch toward Majdal Shams was carried out by the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the military said.

Hezbollah claimed at least four attacks, including with Katyusha rockets, in retaliation for the Kfarkila attacks. However senior Hezbollah media representative Mohammad Afif denied responsibility for the strike on Majdal Shams.

In a written statement, but group said “the Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard”.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October, after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel triggered the Gaza war, in their worst escalation since 2006.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)