Israeli PM: Whoever Harms Us – We Harm Him

A man watches smoke billow after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Qsair on August 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
A man watches smoke billow after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Qsair on August 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Israeli PM: Whoever Harms Us – We Harm Him

A man watches smoke billow after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Qsair on August 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
A man watches smoke billow after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Qsair on August 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would take all measures necessary to defend itself, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander.

"We are determined to do everything possible to defend our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we harm him," he said in a statement.

Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah, as the group said it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of Fouad Shukr, one of its founders, in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said around 100 Israeli aircraft took part in Sunday’s strikes.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front.”



Egypt Warns Visiting US General on Lebanon Risk

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
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Egypt Warns Visiting US General on Lebanon Risk

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned America's top general during a meeting on Sunday of the dangers of a major conflict in Lebanon.

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Egypt hours after a significant missile exchange between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah.

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel and Israel said it struck Lebanon with about 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the largest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

In a statement, Sisi's office said the Egyptian leader told Brown that the international community needed to "exert all efforts and intensify pressures to defuse tension and stop the state of escalation that threatens the security and stability of the entire region."

"(Sisi warned) in this regard of the dangers of opening a new front in Lebanon, and stressing the need to preserve Lebanon's stability and sovereignty," the statement read, Reuters reported.

Brown did not make public remarks during his visit, on which he also met the defence minister and the country's chief of defense.

In remarks to Reuters prior to arriving in the region on Saturday, Brown said he aimed to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict.

Brown’s spokesperson said the US general discussed ways "to deter the conflict from broadening" during the meetings.

Prior to his Egypt trip, Brown met Jordan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Maj. Gen. Yousef Al-Huneiti in Amman.

In a statement, Brown's spokesperson said the two military leaders discussed "regional tensions and efforts to deescalate them."

They also discussed "the urgency of bringing the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure," the statement said.