Israel-Lebanon latest: UN envoy says Middle East is on brink of ‘catastrophe’ as Netanyahu strikes Hezbollah
Threat of all-out regional war grows as Israel denies involvement in deadly pager attacks
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The Israeli military says it has launched extensive new strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday morning, following a weekend that saw the heaviest exchanges of fire since the conflict began almost a year ago.
On Sunday, Israel said it struck around 290 targets inside Lebanon after Hezbollah launched just over 100 rockets at northern Israel.
The UN envoy for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, warned that the Middle East is on the brink of “imminent catastrophe”, emphasising that “there is NO military solution that will make either side safer.”
Earlier, Israel has denied having any involvement in an exploding pager attack which killed dozens and injured thousands of people across Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli president Isaac Herzog said he “rejects out of hand any connection” to the audacious operation carried out against Hezbollah last week.
At least 39 people were injured and 3,000 were wounded after the Iran-backed militia’s pagers and walkie-talkies simultaneously detonated across the Middle East on Tuesday and Thursday.
In focus: How the plot to explode Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies unfolded
How the plot to explode Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies unfolded
Israel’s Mossad spy agency is believed to be behind the operation, Chris Stevenson writes, which likely took months of planning
Comment: The Hezbollah pager attacks prove that Israel has no strategy for peace
The Hezbollah pager attacks prove that Israel has no strategy for peace
With the first anniversary of 7 October approaching, Israel is no closer to a resolution of the Gaza conflict – and making terrorists’ electronic devices explode will not help, says Bronwen Maddox
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah
Israel will do 'everything necessary' to return evacuated residents to their homes
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant has said that strikes on Lebanon will continue until it is safe for evacuated people in the north of Israel to return to their homes.
“Hezbollah has begun to feel some of the capabilities of the Israel Defence Forces, and there is already a very strong feeling of being persecuted, and we are seeing the results,” he said during a tour of Israeli Air Force facilities.
“These moves will continue until we reach a situation where we safely return the residents of the north to their homes - this is the goal, this is the mission, and we will do everything necessary to meet it,” he added.
Lammy ‘deeply concerned’ by violence in West Bank
David Lammy has said he was “deeply, deeply concerned” by events in the West Bank and left the door open for possible sanctions for those engaging in “escalatory behaviour”.
“I’m not announcing further sanctions today but that is kept under close review,” the UK foreign secretary told a Labour Party conference fringe event hosted by Labour Together.
“As you would expect, I’m deeply, deeply concerned by what I’ve seen at this point in time.” Asked whether he was referring to events in the West Bank, he said: “Yes.”
The Foreign Secretary was asked by an audience member at a fringe event at Labour conference when the Government would take the step of introducing a full arms embargo.
“We have suspended those licences that could be used to breach international humanitarian law in Gaza,” he said.
“I don’t think it would be quite right to suspend licences, for example, that the Israelis could use in relation to the Houthis, that Israel may need to use in relation to the challenges it has with other proxies in the area. I think that would be a mistake.
“It would lead to a wider war and an escalation that we here in the UK are committed to stopping, so I’m afraid I disagree with that position.”
What is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group?
What is Hezbollah, the Lebanese group hit in ‘double tap’ pager attacks?
Israel has declared a ‘new phase of war’ on its border with Lebanon
Who is Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike?
Who is Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike?
Ibrahim Aqil was killed after multiple Israeli missiles tore into the side of an apartment block in Beirut on Friday
Watch: Israel hit by Hezbollah rockets in biggest attack yet as strikes intensify
Israel raids and shuts down Al Jazeera's bureau in Ramallah in the West Bank
Israel raids and shuts down Al Jazeera's bureau in Ramallah in the West Bank
Israeli troops have raided the offices of the satellite news network Al Jazeera in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, ordering the bureau to shut down
Watch: Hezbollah fires more than 100 rockets across Israel as fears of war mount
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