Israel-Lebanon live: Biden orders Pentagon to ‘adjust’ military in region as Israel launches Beirut airstrikes
Daniel Hagari said an earlier strike on Hezbollah’s central command was ‘very precise’
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US President Joe Biden has ordered the Pentagon to adjust the military in the Middle East after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
The White House said in a statement: “He has directed the Pentagon to assess and adjust as necessary US force posture in the region to enhance deterrence, ensure force protection, and support the full range of US objectives.”
The Israeli Defence Force said it launched strikes on targets in Tyre in southern Lebanon and Dahieh in Beirut.
Israeli spokesperson Daniel Hagari said an earlier strike on Hezbollah’s central command was “very precise”.
Earlier, Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut was hit by a series of massive explosions reported to have been targeted at the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The airstrikes killed at least six people and wounded 91 in the suburbs, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israeli sources said Nasrallah was the intended target but a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters he was still alive.
Netanyahu says Israel ‘yearns for peace'
Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not intend to attend this year’s general assembly but he “decided to come and set the record straight.”
He went on to say that Israel “yearns for peace” and “will make peace again” but added that it must defend itself against “savage” enemies.
Netanyahu begins speech to world leaders at UN
Benjamin Netanyahu is at the lecturn at the UN General Assembly in New York.
He was met with some cheers and jeers from those inside in the chamber as he walked up.
Starmer and Netanyahu did not meet at the UN, it is understood
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer did not meet with his Israeli counterpart during the sidelines of a world leaders’ summit in New York, despite hopes for talks from the UK side, according to Sky News.
A source familiar with the trip mentioned that scheduling conflicts between Sir Keir Starmer and Benjamin Netanyahu prevented the meeting.
Additionally, a meeting between the prime minister and Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was called off after the Israeli official postponed his trip to the United Nations General Assembly by a day.
The Jewish Chronicle newspaper also reported that the two leaders did not meet despite both being in New York at the same time.
It quoted Downing Street sources as insisting this was not a snub and that the government is “in touch with the Israelis all the time”.
The lack of discussions between the British and Israeli leaders occurred as Israel intensified its military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
No current plans to evacuate citizens, US says
The American embassay in Beirut has issued a short statement on X to say it has no current plans to evacuate its citizens.
The U.S. Embassy is not evacuating U.S. citizens at this time. There is a commercially available flight that U.S. citizens who expressed interest in departing Lebanon will have to book and pay directly with the airline.
— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) September 27, 2024
Israel's goals in Lebanon are much narrower compared to Gaza, official says
An Israeli security official said he expects a possible war against Hezbollah would not last for as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing guidelines, told The Associated Press that the goal in Lebanon is just to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel, which is “not a high bar like Gaza.” The official said that no decision has been made on whether Israel will carry out a ground operation in southern Lebanon. But he stressed that the military is training for this possibility every day and is ready to implement it.
British mother ‘on edge’ as family waits for flight home
A British mother and her young family in Lebanon are “on edge” as they face a five-day wait for a flight back to the UK amid daily explosions.
Victoria Lupton, 37, who divides her time between Achrafieh in Beirut and Cambridge, arrived in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday September 17, on the same day a wave of blasts hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members.
Ms Lupton told the PA news agency she was in her apartment with her British-Lebanese husband protecting their two-year-old daughter - whom she does not wish to name - after they heard blasts in their area on Monday as a result of the growing violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
“I was trying to protect my two-year-old from the noise of that,” she said.
“Since then, we regularly hear distant rumblings of explosions and all of us are really on edge - even when a door slams, we’re jumping up. Last weekend, there was a thunderstorm, and there were rumbles of thunder happening, and I was with a group of people, and everyone thought that that was either a sonic boom or a rocket. We were all very uneasy looking at each other.”
Ms Lupton who is founder and chief executive of Seenaryo, a non-profit which helps educate Middle Eastern women and children through theatre and play, said there is a "shared experience" among British nationals in Lebanon in "constantly discussing when to stay and when to go" from the country.
Houthi rebels fire ballistic missile at Tel Aviv
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Friday they had targeted Israel’s cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon with a ballistic missile and a drone in support of Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile that was fired from Yemen after sirens and explosions were heard early in the day.
The Houthi‘s military spokesperson said their operations won’t halt in the coming days until Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon stop.
“We will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy in victory for the blood of our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon,” Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech.
Israel will ‘increase’ its attacks on Lebanon
The Israeli army will continue to hit Lebanon “very hard”, defence minister Yoav Gallant has said.
He made the comments during a visit to Safed in northern Israel, saying the strikes would continue until security was returned to the north, The Times of Israel has reported.
These remarks are about the 60,000 people who have been evacuated from northern Israel because of near-daily attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
Mr Gallant said: “We are hitting Hezbollah very hard over the past year and in particular over the past few weeks. We will continue and increase this effort — we plan to bring security to the town in the north and to safely return home those who evacuated.”
I have approved the next set of operations that will be executed by the IDF in the northern arena. We continue to eliminate Hezbollah terrorists, dismantle offensive infrastructure, and destroy rockets and missiles.
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) September 26, 2024
The missions ahead of us are clear, and we are determined to… pic.twitter.com/K4jqdN4kXn
British defence secretary reaffirms calls for Britons to leave Lebanon
The UK’s defence secretary has reaffirmed calls for Britons to leave Lebanon as he is “deeply worried” about the conflict.
Speaking with Sky News, John Healey said they fear the conflict could escalate into something “much wider and much more serious”.
He said: “Our first concern remains the safety of British nationals in Lebanon. The travel advice remains the same. Don’t go to Lebanon. If you are in Lebanon, then get out. And there are still commercial flights leaving, so people can do that.”
25 people killed in strikes today, health minister says
Lebanon‘s health minister says 25 people have been killed so far in Israeli strikes on Friday, according to Reuters.
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