In the wake of Israeli airstrikes that resulted in nearly 500 casualties in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to the Lebanese people, urging them not to act as "human shields" for Hezbollah.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel's conflict is not with the Lebanese people but with Hezbollah, which has been embedding its missile stockpiles in civilian areas. He vowed to eliminate these threats to safeguard Israeli citizens.
In a video message, Netanyahu claimed that Hezbollah has strategically placed rockets and missiles in Lebanese homes, endangering civilian lives, with the weapons aimed at Israeli cities.
He stressed that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has warned Lebanese civilians to leave high-risk areas and take these alerts seriously to avoid becoming casualties of Hezbollah's actions. He urged the Lebanese population not to let Hezbollah jeopardize their lives or the future of Lebanon, encouraging them to evacuate now and promising they could return safely after Israeli operations conclude.
The violence has now shifted from Israel’s southern Gaza border to the northern frontier with Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been launching attacks in support of Hamas since the war began. As part of the IDF's "Operation Northern Arrows," Israeli airstrikes have targeted Hezbollah positions in southern and eastern Lebanon, with a "targeted strike" also reported in Beirut.
Lebanon's Hezbollah-run health ministry reported 492 casualties as of Monday night, including 35 children and 58 women. Over 1,645 people have been injured, and thousands of families are displaced, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad.
The deadly strikes, marking the most lethal day of cross-border violence since last year's Gaza conflict, drew condemnation from Arab nations and international powers, urging both Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate.
In response to earlier Israeli strikes, Hezbollah declared a "new phase" in its confrontation, launching rockets at Israeli military sites. A commander from Hezbollah’s elite forces was killed in one such Israeli attack in southern Beirut.
The recent escalation follows a series of explosions in Lebanon blamed on Israel by Hezbollah. These blasts, involving pagers and walkie-talkies, claimed 39 lives and injured nearly 3,000 people last week.