Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.
Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting and as US, European and some Arab officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.
Netanyahu said Israel’s “policy is clear. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”
He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.
Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.
