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Israel Strikes Lebanon after Discussing 'Iranian Threat' with Trump

A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
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Israel Strikes Lebanon after Discussing 'Iranian Threat' with Trump

A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

Israel launched fresh strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president-elect Donald Trump spoke about the "Iranian threat".

The Israeli premier was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling the re-election "history's greatest comeback".

Over the phone on Wednesday, the pair "agreed to work together for Israel's security" and "discussed the Iranian threat", Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Not long afterwards, the Israeli military launched its latest strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah's main bastion of south Beirut, with AFP footage showing orange flashes and plumes of smoke over the densely populated suburb.

The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, calling on people to leave four neighborhoods, including one near the international airport.

In Lebanon's east, the country's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 40 people, with rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.

"The series of Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek" killed "40 people and injured 53", the ministry said in a statement.

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Lebanese Politician Accuses Israel of Increasing Bombardment to Wring Concessions

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanese Politician Accuses Israel of Increasing Bombardment to Wring Concessions

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker has accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment of Lebanon in order to pressure the government to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah.

Elias Bou Saab, an ally of the Iran-backed group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.”

“We are optimistic, and there is hope, but nothing is guaranteed with a person like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu),” Bou Saab told reporters.

Israel has carried out heavy strikes in central Beirut in recent days, while Hezbollah has increased its rocket fire into Israel.

The United States is trying to broker an agreement in which Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops would patrol the region, along with a UN peacekeeping force.

Israel has demanded freedom of action to strike Hezbollah if it violates the ceasefire, but Bou Saab said that was not part of the emerging agreement.

He also said Israel had accepted that France be part of the committee overseeing the ceasefire after Lebanese officials insisted. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side.

Israel has objected to France being on the committee in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision last week to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military commander.

France said it supports the court. It said the question of whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on French soil was a “complex legal issue” that would have to be worked out.