Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country was facing “one of the most dangerous phases of its history” amid Israel’s ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which began late Monday.
Israeli commandos are currently conducting a raid inside southern Lebanon, and there are indications that Israel may send more forces into the area, a senior U.S. official told NPR.
Under his leadership, Hezbollah, funded by Iran, became one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East, boasting a military force stronger even than the Lebanese army.
With Hassan Nasrallah dead in Israeli airstrikes, the Iran-backed militant group is facing enormous challenges as the region is yet again thrown into uncertainty.
The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike on the headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations.
In a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli prime minister said his country would is "winning" and would attack Iran and its proxies anywhere in the Middle East.
The series of explosions that rocked Lebanon this week, killing dozens and wounding thousands, has prompted debate among legal experts on international humanitarian law.
The airstrike follows a deadly week of attacks that have intensified nearly a year of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
Gold Apollo denied all involvement with the explosive pagers, telling NPR outside its offices in Taiwan that it was a Budapest-based company called BAC Consulting which manufactured the devices.
Lebanese officials say Israel is to blame for the explosions. Hezbollah members had turned to pagers, believing they were more secure than phones. Israel has declined to comment.
The U.S. and other governments issued Lebanon travel advisories and some airlines stopped flying there, in anticipation of an escalation of fighting after assassinations in Iran and Beirut.
