Israel’s military chief told troops on Wednesday that air strikes would continue in Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prepare the way for a possible ground operation by the Israeli army.
At the same time he spoke, sources said the United States had launched diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon, and resolutions were being considered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Israel on Wednesday expanded the scope of its air strikes in Lebanon, shooting down a missile that the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said had targeted the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency near Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city.
“You are hearing the sound of jets overhead; we have been attacking all day,” Gen. Herzi Halevi told Israeli troops deployed along the Lebanese border, according to an army statement.
“This is to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to humiliate Hezbollah.”
World leaders have expressed concern that the conflict – which is running parallel to Israel’s war in Gaza against the Palestinian Hamas movement backed by Iran – is rapidly escalating, as the death toll in Lebanon rises and thousands of people flee their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington and its allies were working tirelessly to avoid a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking and a source with knowledge of the talks, all of whom declined to be named, said Washington was leading a new diplomatic effort that for the first time covers both conflicts – Gaza and Lebanon.
The United States and France are working on a ceasefire proposal to resolve the escalating fighting in Lebanon, which was launched by Hezbollah in support of Hamas in Gaza, but no significant progress has been made yet, three Israeli sources said.
“The risk of escalation of tensions in the region is serious… The best answer is diplomacy, and our coordinated efforts are vital to prevent further escalation,” Blinken said at a meeting with Gulf Arab state officials and ministers in New York.
Israeli air strikes this week have targeted Hezbollah leaders and hit hundreds of sites inside Lebanon, while the group fired a volley of rockets into Israel, where thousands have fled the border region. Hundreds of Lebanese have been killed.
tune in