Israel To Continue Operations In Lebanon Until Its Citizens Who Evacuate Are Safe To Return

JAKARTA - Hezbollah and Israel attacked each other on Sunday, as the Lebanese militant group launched rockets into northern Israel after facing some of the most intense bombings in nearly a year of conflict.

The conflict - which has risen sharply in the past week - has been raging since Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel, saying it was acting to support Palestinians who are facing further Israeli attacks to the south in Gaza.

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays last week, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded. The attack was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

The next day, Israel launched its toughest bombing in Lebanon so far.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut targeted senior commander Hezbollah in an attack that killed 45 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Hezbollah said 16 members of the group were among the dead, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and other commander Ahmed Wahbi.

In an intense further bombing on Saturday, the Israeli military said it had attacked about 290 targets, including thousands of barrels of Hezbollah rocket launchers.

"In recent days we have dealt a series of punches against Hezbollah he never imagined," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"If Hezbollah doesn't understand the message, I guarantee it, they will understand the message," he continued.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until they were safe for people who fled on his border side to return.

In addition, Israel, Gallant said, has also set the stage for a long conflict as Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to continue fighting to a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Separately, Israel's Chief of General Staff Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement the military had been well prepared for the next stage of fighting, which would come in the next few days, but did not say what would happen.

"We will do whatever it takes to get rid of threats against Israel," Lieutenant General Halevi said in a televised statement.

On the other hand, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told mourners at the funeral of one of the group's commanders who died last week in Beirut: "We have entered a new phase, whose title is an open calculation battle."

Speaking at Aqil's funeral on Sunday, Qassem said Israel was trying to paralyze the group, but it would not work.

Qassem said the escalation of the Israeli conflict would lead to further evacuation of its own citizens.

Israel is known to have closed schools, restricted gatherings in the north and ordered hospitals there to transfer patients and staff to protected areas, safe underground facilities designed to withstand rocket fire.

Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasscharet said in a post on X, "with the area on the verge of an inevitable disaster, this statement cannot be overestimated: THERE is NO military solution that will make both sides safer".