'Life has been shattered': Israeli president defends attacks on Hezbollah
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday defended the deadly escalation in violence against Hezbollah, blaming the militant group's almost daily rocket attacks from across the Lebanese border for forcing 100,000 Israelis from their homes for months.
“Hezbollah has been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns,” Herzog said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “Life has been shattered in our northern border. I don't think any American would have accepted it as a kind of a status quo situation in the United States.
On Friday, Israel carried out a strike in Beirut that killed senior commanders of Hezbollah. Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said at the funeral Sunday that the militants were "ready to face all military possibilities" in battle with Israel.
Earlier last week, Israel was linked to the high-tech attack on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon that killed at least 37 people and injured more than 2,700. Israel has not commented on the attack, which involved sending a signal to Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies that caused them to explode. Multiple reports have said the carnage was planned and executed by Israel.
The attack heightened tensions in the region that already were soaring. Still, Herzog dismissed claims that Israel was trying to escalate the clash into a full-blown war, saying Israeli forces are hoping to reach a diplomatic agreement. He reiterated previous Israeli claims that leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas are refusing to engage.
“This is jihadism at its best, and that's what we are fighting,” Herzog said. “I wish, truly, and I say it as the president of Israel officially, and I say it outright, because I know we don't want war, but if it's waged against us, we go all the way."
Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera: Shut down bureau in West Bank
Developments:
? The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis, said the region was on the "brink of catastrophe" and warned both sides to seek a diplomatic settlement. “It cannot be overstated enough: There is NO military solution that will make either side safer," she said on X.
? Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, who was wounded Friday in Israeli bombings of Beirut, wrote on social media Sunday that his injury "is an honor for me, as I stand with the oppressed Lebanese people in this act of war."
Lebanon on edge: Unease after wave of Hezbollah blasts and as Israel vows 'new phase' in war
Hezbollah strikes deep into Israel
Israeli warplanes pounded Hezbollah positions in Lebanon on Sunday after some of the militant group's rockets targeted the northern Israeli city of Haifa and the Jezreel Valley, reaching deeper into Israel than any since the start of the war in Gaza almost a year ago. About 150 rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs were launched toward Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that air defense systems "prevented significant damage." Israel closed schools, restricted gatherings in the north and ordered hospitals to move patients and staff to protected areas.
Israel has countered with some of the most fierce aerial assaults of the war.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his military hit almost 300 targets over the weekend and that the strikes would continue until it was safe for evacuated people in the north to return. Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until a cease-fire in the Gaza war.
"We have inflicted a series of blows on Hezbollah (more severe) than it ever imagined," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. "If Hezbollah has not understood the message, I promise you, it will understand the message."
Israel shuts down Al Jazeera TV in West Bank
Qatari Al Jazeera TV aired live footage Sunday of Israeli forces storming into its bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah with a military order to close it for 45 days. Moments later the broadcast was disrupted. The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate condemned the Israeli action as a "new violation against journalistic and media works, which has been exposing the occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people."
In May, Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the Al Jazeera TV station's local operations, saying it threatened national security.
Report: Half of hostages still held by Hamas are dead
Netanyahu reportedly told lawmakers that only half of 97 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza are alive, Army Radio reported. Netanyahu made the comments in a closed meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Army Radio reported. Netanyahu once again also denied standing in the way of a hostage deal, blaming Hamas for demanding numerous revisions to the proposed cease-fire outline, according to the report.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel war updates: Cross border strikes with Hezbollah intensify