Israel-Lebanon latest: Netanyahu rejects ceasefire as Israeli strike ‘eliminates’ Hezbollah’s aerial commander
Netanyahu ordered strikes to continue as Israel rejected a US-French proposal for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, despite pressure from allies like the US and France.
“We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we reach all our goals – chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes,” Mr Netanyahu said.
The UK had joined the US, France and other allies in calling for a 21-day temporary truce, amid concerns Israel is preparing for a ground invasion.
Earlier, Israel struck about 220 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in 24 hours, according to Israeli military leaders.
The targets included infrastructure sites, launchers from which projectiles were fired toward Israeli territory, Hezbollah operatives and weapons storage facilities.
Israel also said a Hezbollah air force commander had been killed in an air strike on Beirut.
Mohammad Surur, the head of one of Hezbollah’s air force units, was killed in the strike on a populated area of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
There have been a number of such strikes this week, alongside more than 1,000 others around the country.
Britain joins US, France and allies in call for 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah
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Jordan travel: Is it safe to travel right now, and what are your rights if you have a trip booked?
Netanyahu orders Israeli military to fight Hezbollah with full force – despite ceasefire push
Breaking: Head of air force unit killed in Beirut strike
The head of Hezbollah’s air force unit was killed in Israel’s strike on Beirut, Reuters news agency reported two security sources as saying.
We’ll bring you the latest details as they come in...
Fourteen killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school, medics say
The Israeli military is continuing to wage its war in Gaza despite turning much of its focus to its conflict with Hezbollah in the north.
Palestinian medics say 14 Palestinians were killed in a strike which local media says hit Hasfa al Faluja school - where displaced people are said to be sheltering.
The Israeli air force said it had struck a command centre used by Hamas. In a post on Telegram, it said it took “numerous steps” to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
Israel’s air force says it has conducted a precise strike on a command centre used by Hamas.
Pictured: Israel strikes Beirut again
Israel has struck Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut a number of times this week.
The strike hit the southern suburbs, near where several of hezbollah’s facilities are located - but also where many civilians live and work.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV broadcast images of a damaged upper floor of a building.
Report: Israel gears up for Lebanon ground invasion after another day of heavy strikes
Israel is preparing for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon, army chiefs said on Wednesday, as US president Joe Biden admitted “all-out war” is possible and Sir Keir Starmer urged British nationals to leave the area immediately.
Airstrikes in Lebanon are laying the groundwork for a possible operation to push Hezbollah back and “safely return” displaced Israeli citizens, said Israeli army general Lt Gen Herzi Halevi.
Read the full report by Rachel Hagan and Tom Watling:
Israel gears up for Lebanon ground invasion after another day of heavy strikes
Biden admits ‘all-out war’ is possible as Starmer warns British nationals in Lebanon: ‘The time to leave is now’
The Blue Line - the temporary border between Israel and Lebanon
What is the Blue Line?
As part of the 21-day ceasefire proposal - which has been rejected by Israel - mediators refer to ending the fighting along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.
The Blue Line is a provisional border between Israel and Lebanon - and is not yet viewed as a permanent border.
Drawn in 2000 and monitored by UN peacekeepers, the Blue Line was seen as a temporary solution to demarcate the border between Israel and Lebanon, while a peace agreement still had not been signed.
UN Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for “full respect” for the Blue Line by troops on both sides.
But not only have both Israel and Hezbollah been firing rockets and airstrikes across the line, the Israeli military is now gearing up to stage a ground invasion, according to a top army general.
Hezbollah are supposed to remain behind the Litani river, 20 miles from the Blue Line, but for years have been slowly moving forwards.
Israel ‘targeting Hezbollah leader'
As has been the case with previous Beirut strikes, a security source tells Reuters that Israel targeted a "senior Hezbollah leader" in the hit on Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday afternoon. Israel has not realised details of the latest strike, but have confirmed they did fire on Beirut.
New Beirut strike
The Israeli military has said it is carrying out what is cliams are “precise” strikes in Beirut, where the sound of a blast was heard and smoke was seen rising in the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
More than 600 people have been killed since Monday in Israel's strikes on Lebanon, which follow nearly a year of cross-border fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The strike in a Beirut – one of a number this week – was likely targeting Hezbollah commanders.
Local Hezbollah media said the strike had hit an apartment building.
Pictured: Relatives mourn the death of an Iraqi killed in Lebanon
ICYMI: Mother of British teacher shares relief at his escape
The mother of a British teacher in Beirut has shared her “relief” at her son’s escape from Lebanon.
Charlie Peters, 24, from Highgate in north London, worked in a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon’s capital and has fled the country after the UK government urged British citizens to leave.
His mother, Nicola, said: “I’ve spent three days with the jitters and the jumps and not wanting really to look at the news, but also having to look at the news, and that’s really tricky.
“All those stages of, ‘are you at the airport? Have you got your boarding pass? Are you at gate?’ Because you’re waiting for that sort of news to come through the airport is shot.
“What Charlie was really keen to do is that he did not want to be evacuated
“He was like, ‘we’re edging towards emergency evacuation here. I don’t want to be somebody who’s left it to the point where that’s my only option.”
Nicola said that her son had to wrestle with the decision to leave Lebanon.
“What you have to understand for these people who work in these sort of refugee camp systems is you’re leaving people behind who have no choice,” she said.
Charlie hopes to arrive at London Heathrow this afternoon.
Blinken: World is calling for ceasefire
The US Secretary of State has spoken out on the international efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The world is speaking clearly on the need for a ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border - otherwise known as the Blue Line - he told MSNBC.
More details to follow...
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