Israel strikes Lebanon after discussing 'Iranian threat' with Trump

BEIRUT

Israel launched fresh strikes on south Beirut early Thursday, just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump discussed the "Iranian threat."

The Israeli premier was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling the re-election "history's greatest comeback."

Over the phone on Wednesday, the two leaders "agreed to work together for Israel's security" and "discussed the Iranian threat," Netanyahu's office stated.

Not long afterward, the Israeli military launched its latest strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah's main stronghold in south Beirut, with footages showing orange flashes and plumes of smoke over the densely populated suburb.

The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, urging residents to leave four neighborhoods, including one near the international airport.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry reported that Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 40 people, with rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.

"The series of Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek killed 40 people and injured 53," the ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah has pledged that the outcome of the U.S. election would have no bearing on the war, which escalated in September as the Israeli military widened its focus from Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon.

In a televised speech recorded before Trump's victory but aired afterward, new Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem stated: "We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants ready to fight."

"What will stop this war is the battlefield," he added.

Qassem, who became Hezbollah's secretary-general last week, warned that nowhere in Israel would be "off-limits."

Hezbollah announced Wednesday that it had Iran-made Fatah 110 missiles, a weapon with a 300-kilometer (186-mile) range that military expert Riad Kahwaji described as the group's "most accurate."

The group claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Israel on Wednesday, including two that targeted naval bases near the Israeli city of Haifa and two near the commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah began its low-intensity cross-border campaign last year in support of ally Hamas after the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel escalated its air raids on Hezbollah strongholds in south Lebanon, Beirut, and the eastern Bekaa Valley starting September 23, sending in ground troops a week later.

More than a year of fighting in Lebanon has resulted in at least 3,050 deaths, the health ministry reported Wednesday.

Trump's return 

Efforts to end the conflicts in Gaza and neighboring Lebanon have so far repeatedly failed.

While U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has piled pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a truce, Washington has sustained its political and military backing of Israel.

Many see Trump's return to the White House as a potential boon for Israel.

All U.S. presidents "are in favor of the State of Israel," a man in east Jerusalem told AFP, asking to be identified only by his nickname Abu Mohammed.

Under Trump, "nothing will change except more decline."

During his campaign, Trump touted himself as Israel's strongest ally, going so far as to say Biden should let Israel "finish the job" against Hamas in Gaza.

"Trump's return to power will lead us to hell and there will be a greater and more difficult escalation," said a school principal in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Recent surveys have shown that a majority of Israelis, 66 percent according to one conducted by Israel's Channel 12 News, were hoping to see Trump triumph.

Analysts noted that Netanyahu also wanted Trump's return, given their longstanding personal friendship and the American's hawkish stance on Iran.

During his first term in office, Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, and helped normalize ties between Israel and several Arab states under the so-called Abraham Accords.

However, some experts caution against prematurely assuming Trump's position on "Israel's treatment of Palestinians."

"It's not necessarily clear that he would simply stand aside while Israel continues to de facto annex the West Bank," said Mairav Zonszein from the International Crisis Group.

'Nothing left for us' 

Egypt, the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel and one of the mediators in the stalled Gaza truce talks, also congratulated Trump.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Trump in a call that Cairo would work with him "to contribute to stability, peace, and development in the Middle East."

In Gaza, where the war has displaced most residents, caused widespread hunger and death, and devastated hospitals, some cling to hope with a change in the U.S. administration.

"There's nothing left for us; we want peace," said 60-year-old Mamdouh al-Jadba, who was displaced to Gaza City from Jabalia.

The U.N. said Wednesday its polio vaccination campaign in Gaza had ended, with more than half a million children vaccinated despite the war.

Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack that initiated the war resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.

As the conflict rages on, humanitarian crises continue to unfold across the region. The ongoing violence has resulted in significant displacement and exacerbated food and medical shortages. Many residents report difficulty accessing basic necessities like clean water and electricity.

International relief organizations warn that the situation is dire, calling for immediate humanitarian access to provide aid to those affected by the ongoing hostilities.

In response to the escalating crisis, calls for a ceasefire have grown louder from various global leaders and humanitarian agencies. 

As the world pays attention to the conflict, the implications extend beyond the immediate region, with potential impacts on global security and geopolitical stability.