Netanyahu accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields

Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanese people to move away from danger as the Israeli military pounded Hezbollah targets in the country’s south and east

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah has been using Lebanese civilians as human shields, addressing residents of the neighbouring nation in a video statement shortly after the Israeli army announced it had struck 800 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

“It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage,” he said.

He also warned Lebanese people to move away from danger as the Israeli military pounded Hezbollah targets in the country’s south and east on Monday (September 23, 2024).

“Please, get out of harm’s way now. Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes,” Mr. Netanyahu.

The Israeli strikes killed 274 people, including 21 children, in Lebanon on Monday (September 23, 2024), the Lebanese health minister said, in by far the deadliest cross-border escalation since war erupted in Gaza on October 7.

In his statement to people in Lebanon on Monday (September 23, 2024), Mr. Netanyahu said it was Hezbollah who had endangered their security.

“Don’t let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah began launching rockets towards Israel in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas in October after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people in northern Israel on Sunday (September 22, 2024) fled to bomb shelters as Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets across the border.

The cross-border fire came after an Israeli air strike in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold on Friday (September 20, 2024) killed its elite Radwan Force commander, Ibrahim Aqil, along with other commanders and civilians.

That strike followed coordinated communications device blasts on Tuesday (September 17, 2024) and Wednesday (September 18, 2024) that Hezbollah blamed on Israel and that killed 39 people and wounded almost 3,000.

Published - September 24, 2024 12:19 pm IST