Israel vows to strike on Hezbollah 'without respite' as October 7 anniversary looms

The Israeli military is ramping up its operations on multiple fronts as the anniversary of the October 7 attacks approaches, with plans for a robust retaliation against Iran in response to last week’s massive ballistic missile strike on Israel.

Signs of imminent Israeli retaliation against Iran came as French President Emmanuel Macron advocates for an international arms embargo against Israel, specifically for weapons used in Gaza, as part of a broader initiative to find a peaceful resolution. The Israeli retaliation is expected to be “significant and serious,” signaling a major escalation in the conflict.

Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi on Saturday vowed no let-up in the military’s battle against Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.

“We must continue to apply pressure on Hezbollah and do additional and continual damage to the enemy, without concessions and without respite”, Lieutenant General Halevi said in a statement.

President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday that Iran remains an “ongoing threat” to Israel, a year after the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas militants.

“In many senses we are still living the aftermath of October 7… It is in the ongoing threat to the Jewish State by Iran and its terror proxies, who are blinded by hatred and bent on the destruction of our one and only Jewish nation state,” Herzog said in a statement to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

The IDF is preparing a response to the Iranian missile barrage that targeted Israel earlier this week as it expanded bombardment in Lebanon, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with 12 airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon for the first time.

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“The IDF (Israeli military) is preparing a response to the unprecedented and unlawful Iranian attack on Israeli civilians and Israel,” the military official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

The attack on the Beddawi refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli killed an official with Hamas’s military wing, along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palesitnian militant group said in a statement. Tripoli is much farther north than the majority of Israel’s strikes, which have been concentrated in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began in October last year, in addition to most of the top leadership of Hezbollah.

At least six people were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to National News Agency, Lebanon’s official news agency.

Israel’s intense bombing campaign in Lebanon

Israel expanded its conflict in Lebanon on Saturday with its first strike in the northern city of Tripoli, a Lebanese security official said, after more bombs hit Beirut suburbs and Israeli troops launched raids in the south.

Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Hezbollah. Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel’s year-old war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.
Israel says it aims to allow the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to their homes in northern Israel, bombarded by Hezbollah since Oct.8 last year.

China evacuates 215 nationals from Lebanon

China said Saturday that it has evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out intense bombardments since last month, resulting in over 1,100 deaths.

This week, Israel said its troops launched “ground raids” into parts of southern Lebanon, a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, following days of heavy strikes on areas across the country where the group holds sway.

Canadian PM urges citizens to leave Lebanon

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadian citizens still in Lebanon on Saturday to sign up to be evacuated on special flights which have already helped more than 1,000 leave as security there deteriorates.

Canada has 6,000 signed up to leave and officials are trying to reach another 2,500 over the weekend, an official in Trudeau’s office said, adding that more flights were being added for Monday and Tuesday.

“We’ve still got seats on airplanes organised by Canada. We encourage all Canadians to take seats on these airplanes and get out of Lebanon while they can,” Trudeau said at a summit of leaders from French-speaking countries in France.

Canada has not been able to fill flights with its citizens and has offered seats to people from the Australia, New Zealand, the United States and some European countries, the official in his office said.

With inputs from agencies.