RT @Nadav_Eyal: Background to Israel's Preemptive Strike in Lebanon:

On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah unilaterally and without provocation attacked Israel, less than 24 hours after the Hamas massacres on its southern border. Hezbollah has continued its attacks on Israel since then, viewing this as an act of solidarity with the "Axis of Resistance" and with Hamas. As a result, the entire northern region of Israel, along the border, has been evacuated, displacing tens of thousands of residents.

Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets and unmanned drones toward Israel, prompting the IDF to retaliate by attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Last month, Israel carried out a targeted assassination in Beirut, killing Hezbollah's second-in-command, its Chief of Staff. Hezbollah has vowed revenge.

Israeli security forces have communicated, both to me and others, that Israel will not wait if it knows Hezbollah is planning to strike. Israel will launch a preemptive strike, which is precisely what is happening now. Additionally, Israel has sent a message to Hezbollah, which we have reported on, warning that any attack targeting Israeli civilians will result in a full-scale war by Israel against the state of Lebanon.

At the beginning of the conflict, on October 11, the Israeli cabinet convened to consider an IDF plan for a surprise, wide-ranging preemptive aerial strike against Hezbollah. Although the Defense Minister and most of the IDF supported the plan, the cabinet decided against it. The Israeli defense establishment believed at the time that it had excellent intelligence and the capability to significantly degrade Hezbollah’s abilities in such a surprise attack. However, the plan was not adopted due to concerns that it could distract from Israel's primary objective: dismantling Hamas's military power in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has now begun a second round of aerial assaults in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. The critical questions now are whether Israel can derail Hezbollah's plan to attack Israel and significantly reduce its ability to retaliate. Hezbollah possesses tens of thousands of missiles, rockets, and unmanned drones. Some of these are extremely accurate, while others carry large payloads.

In Israel, there has been widespread speculation for weeks that Hezbollah would strike. People have been stockpiling food, supplies, and in some cases, purchasing generators in preparation for potential attacks on Israel's electrical and other infrastructure.

Another significant question is whether Iran will intervene. Additionally, what actions will U.S. forces, now significantly increased in the region by orders from the President and the White House, take if Iran intervenes.

Israel Foreign Ministry

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RT @NewZealandMFA: Tonight, the Minister of Foreign Affairs hosted the United Nations Secretary-General @antonioguterres at his residence in Auckland.

They discussed a wide range of issues including:

- the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, which the Secretary-General is attending;
- the situation in New Caledonia; and
- the Secretary-General’s upcoming travel to Timor-Leste and China. 

The Minister also acknowledged the Secretary-General’s longstanding interest, engagement and advocacy for the Pacific.

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New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade

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RT @Israel: ?BREAKING: In a self-defense act to remove Hezbollah’s threat, the IDF is striking targets in south Lebanon, from which the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror organization was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.

Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks are targeting northern Israel.

Israel Foreign Ministry

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RT @Israel_katz: נורבגיה הודיעה אתמול על סגירת משרדה ברשות הפלסטינית בעקבות החלטתי לשלול את מעמדם הדיפלומטי של שמונה מעובדיה הפועלים מול הרש"פ, בשל הכרת נורבגיה במדינה פלסטינית-חמאסית אחרי טבח ה-7 באוקטובר ותמיכתה בהוצאת צווי מאסר נגד רה"מ בנימין נתניהו ובכירים ישראלים.

מי שפועל נגדנו אנחנו נפעל נגדו. נוסיף לשמור על מעמדה וכבודה הלאומי של מדינת ישראל.

משרד החוץ

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday afternoon exchanged views with Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri over the developments regarding talks to stop the Zionist regime’s #genocidal war in #Gaza.. en.mfa.gov.ir/portal/newsvie…

Foreign Ministry, Islamic Republic of Iran ??

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RT @Froim: Lebanon suffers from an ongoing economic crisis. It can't buy enough fuel to provide the population with electricity 24/7.
Yet #Hizbullah_Terrorists are oblivious to the needs of the people. They are determined to bring further destruction upon them, all in the service of #Iran

`This video was released yesterday by Hezbollah, the Iranian-Backed Lebanese Terror Organization.

Hezbollah's extensive tunnel network poses a grave danger not only to Israel but also to the people of Lebanon.

By embedding its military infrastructure in civilian areas (schools, hospitals, mosques) Hezbollah places countless lives at risk, turning neighborhoods into potential battlegrounds.

This strategy mirrors that of Hamas in Gaza, where the civilian population has suffered greatly due to the presence of such underground complexes.

The existence of these tunnels, packed with precision missile launchers, UAVs, and other weapons, highlights the urgent need to eliminate Hezbollah. This terrorist organization uses Lebanon as a shield while threatening regional stability.

Eliminating Hezbollah is not just about defending borders—it's about protecting innocent lives in Israel and Lebanon and ensuring long-term stability in the region.` - David Saranga

Israel Foreign Ministry

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.@IDF: Due to significant terrorist activity, exploitation of the Humanitarian Area for terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the Aljalaa area, remaining in this area has become dangerous.

Accordingly, at this time, the Humanitarian Area will be adjusted. The adjustment is being carried out in accordance with precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area defined as a Humanitarian Area.

The early warning to civilians is being made in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and keep civilians away from areas of combat.

The IDF is about to operate against the terrorist organizations in the area and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the Aljalaa neighborhood to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted Humanitarian Area.

The calls for the temporary evacuation are being communicated to residents through SMS messages, recorded voice messages, phone calls, media broadcasts in Arabic and flyers.

The IDF will continue to act against the Hamas terrorist organization, which uses the Gazan civilians as a human shield for its terrorist activities and infrastructure.

We would like to emphasize that as part of the evacuation of the population, messages were sent to counterparts in the Palestinian health system and the international community in order to communicate that there is no need to evacuate the hospitals in the Humanitarian Area.

Israel Foreign Ministry

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