Trump Calls for Ceasefire, Netanyahu Insists on Continuing Attacks in Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that his military will continue attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming they target the Hezbollah militia. This assertion comes despite US President Donald Trump announcing that he had successfully persuaded both Israel and Hezbollah to cease hostilities.
“I spoke tonight with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and our citizens, Israel will strike terror targets in Beirut,” Netanyahu stated, according to reports from the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth and Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
“Our position remains unchanged. At the same time, the military will continue to operate according to plan in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli Prime Minister emphasised.
Netanyahu’s statement follows Trump’s announcement on Monday morning that Israel and Hezbollah had reached an agreement to halt mutual attacks. Israeli media previously reported that Netanyahu and Trump spoke via telephone to discuss the current situation in Lebanon and Iran.
The telephone conversation took place amidst escalating Israeli military action in Lebanon, just hours after Netanyahu ordered the Tel Aviv military to launch airstrikes in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Meanwhile, Iranian media reports indicate that Tehran has suspended message exchanges with Washington regarding the military escalation in Lebanon.
Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, reported that Tel Aviv had actually planned bombing raids on the southern outskirts of Beirut on Monday morning but decided to delay them following US intervention. The Israeli military escalation in Lebanon has triggered stern warnings from Iran, an ally of Hezbollah. Mohsen Rezaei, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned Israel that further escalation in Lebanon “will not be tolerated.”
In a post on the social media platform X, Rezaei asserted: “The patience of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has its limits.”