By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – At least two people were reportedly killed and eight injured as Lebanon-based Hezbollah fired some 90 rockets into northern Israel, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Lebanese people to take back their country.
Most rockets were launched Wednesday towards the Upper Galilee, Haifa Bay, and Kiryat Shmona areas, where several were killed and injured, said Israel’s rescue organization Magen David Adom (MDA) and the military.
Several rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open fields, the military said.
Yet that could not prevent the killing of a couple, a man and a woman, both aged 40, Israeli sources said. They reportedly sustained fatal wounds due to falling shrapnel while walking their dogs and did not have time to enter the protected area
Three people were treated by MDA paramedics in the Haifa Bay area after they were hit by shrapnel. Among them was a 16-year-old in moderate condition and another person roughly 50 years old suffering “from light wounds,” the MDA added.
A total of eight people were brought to the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa for medical treatment, with one in serious condition and the rest suffering from minor wounds, medics said.
Yet the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported it struck back after 20 rockets were detected in a barrage towards Kiryat Shmona alone, adding they had destroyed the site from where the missiles were launched.
EMOTIONAL VIDEO
The attacks came despite an emotionally charged video appeal by Netanyahu: “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” he told Lebanese people.
With attacks continuing, the Israel Air Force reportedly struck the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut shortly after the deadly rocket barrage struck northern Israel.
The strike on the Lebanese capital also followed talks between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who is seeking re-election, Israeli sources said.
Trump has overseen the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arabic nations.
In his video address, Netanyahu made clear he had not given up hope that this accords will extend to Lebanon and that one day, the Lebanese and Israeli people of different religions will live in peace, without “terrorists.”
“Do you remember when your country was called ‘the pearl of the Middle East’? I do,” he said.
“So what happened to Lebanon? A gang of tyrants and terrorists destroyed it. That’s what happened.”
AMMUNITION STOCKPILE
He recalled that Israel withdrew from Lebanon 25 years ago, “But the country that actually conquered Lebanon is not Israel, it’s Iran, which financed and armed Hezbollah to serve Iran’s interest at Lebanon’s expense.”
The Israeli leader stressed that Hezbollah “has turned Lebanon into a stockpile of ammunition and weapons and a forward Iranian military base.”
Netanyahu said that Hezbollah launched a war against Israel after the October 7 massacre of 1,200 people by its ally Hamas in northern Israel.
However, he warned Israel would win. “Now you, the Lebanese people, you stand at a significant crossroads. It is your choice. You can now take back your country and return it to a path of peace and prosperity. If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue fighting Israel from densely populated areas at your expense.”
He added: “Today I ask every mother and every father in Lebanon a simple question: “Is it worth it?”
Netanyahu said they deserve a better future and a peaceful nation. “Don’t let this terrorists destroy your future anymore than they have already done. Stand up and take your country back before it falls into the abyss of a long war. I say to the people of Lebanon: ‘Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end.’”
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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