Netanyahu Says Israel has ‘Surprising’ Plans for Lebanon

HANDOUT - 23 May 2024, Israel, Safed: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israel's Northern Command Headquarters. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
HANDOUT - 23 May 2024, Israel, Safed: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israel's Northern Command Headquarters. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
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Netanyahu Says Israel has ‘Surprising’ Plans for Lebanon

HANDOUT - 23 May 2024, Israel, Safed: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israel's Northern Command Headquarters. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
HANDOUT - 23 May 2024, Israel, Safed: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israel's Northern Command Headquarters. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has “surprising” military plans for Lebanon, adding that Israel has been able to eliminate “hundreds” of Hezbollah militants.
"We are constantly in action on the northern front. As of now we have eliminated hundreds of Hezbollah militants and we are still poised – even today”, said Netanyahu as he visited the Israeli army Northern Command Headquarters.
“I just received a briefing from the head of Northern Command and I also spoke with the division commanders. We have detailed, important, and even surprising plans”, he added.
Netanyahu stated that he “will not share these plans – which are designed to do two things, 1) to restore security to the north, and 2) to restore the residents safely to their homes... We are determined to achieve both of them together”.
Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with the Israeli army since Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 triggering war in Gaza.
On Thursday, Lebanese school children on a minibus had a narrow escape when an Israeli drone strike killed a Hezbollah fighter in the car ahead, blowing out the windscreen of their vehicle and wounding three pupils.



Canada Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Citing Unpredictable Security Situation

 Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Canada Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Citing Unpredictable Security Situation

 Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Canada on Tuesday reiterated a call for its citizens to leave Lebanon while they can, saying the security situation in the country was becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"My message to Canadians has been clear since the beginning of the crisis in the Middle East: it is not the time to travel to Lebanon. And for Canadians currently in Lebanon, it is time to leave, while commercial flights remain available," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement.