Israel is firing strikes into Lebanon as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.
Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation in Lebanon will continue, despite international calls for a diplomatic resolution to Israel's conflict with Hezbollah.
"I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing, we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes. We are inflicting blows on Hezbollah that [the group] did not imagine. We do it with power, we do it with guile. I promise you one thing -- we will not rest until they come home," Netanyahu said.
Sep 25, 2024, 12:39 PM EDT
Biden says 'all-out war' is possible in the Middle East
When asked about how real the threat of a wider war in the Middle East really is, President Joe Biden said "an all-out war is possible," but added that there's still the opportunity for a resolution contingent on Israel changing "some policies."
"We’re still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region," Biden said, in an interview on "The View," which covered a range of topics.
"The Arab world very much wants to have a settlement, because they know what it does for them. They're willing to make arrangements with Israel and alliances with Israel, if Israel changes some policies."
Biden said he has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he said that there "needs" to be a two-state solution.
"I don't agree with his position. There needs to be a two-state solution. Ultimately, it needs to happen. There's a way to do it, and they have a possibility," Biden said.
Biden added that if a cease-fire agreement is reached in Lebanon, then they'll have to deal with Gaza, but he insisted that he and his team are "using every bit of energy" to get the deal done.
Sep 25, 2024, 11:28 AM EDT
Israel preparing a ground operation into Lebanon
Israel is preparing a ground invasion into Lebanon, according to Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the General Staff for the Israel Defense Forces.
"We will continue, we are not stopping; we keep striking and hitting them everywhere. The goal is very clear -- to safely return the residents of the north," Halevi said Wednesday, while visiting Israeli troops at the northern border.
"To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points, and launchpads into our territory and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians," Halevi said.
Sep 25, 2024, 7:18 AM EDT
Full-scale Israel-Hezbollah war 'wouldn't solve the problem,' Blinken says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon "needs to be contained."
"We're working to make sure this doesn't get into a full-scale war," Blinken said. Asked if he believes such escalation can be prevented, Blinken responded: "I do."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during an event supporting the "Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats" on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United National General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 24, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
"Israel has a legitimate problem it has to solve," Blinken said, noting Hezbollah's near-constant cross-border strikes since Oct. 8 and the subsequent evacuation of parts of northern Israel.
Blinken also acknowledged those fleeing their homes amid Israeli retaliation in southern Lebanon.
The "best way" to address Israel's problems in the north, Blinken continued, "is through diplomacy."
There were "a number of times" where full-scale war at the shared Israel-Lebanon border seemed imminent since Oct. 7, Blinken said. "Diplomacy by the United States prevented that from happening."
"But if there were to be a full-scale war, that wouldn't solve the problem."
President Joe Biden and his top administration officials say they are working hard to de-escalate the situation in Lebanon.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Biden condemned Hezbollah's "unprovoked" attacks into Israel since Oct. 8.
"Almost a year later, too many on each side of the Israeli-Lebanon border remain displaced," the president said.
"Full-scale war is not in anyone's interest," he added. "Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely."
"That's what we're working tirelessly to achieve," Biden said.
