Israel Launches Massive Airstrike Against Hezbollah Targets in Beirut

TaiwanPlus News

Israel has launched a series of bombardments on Lebanon's capital Beirut as it vows to eliminate the leadership of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, prompting fears of all-out war in the region.

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00:00Plumes of smoke rise over Lebanon's capital, Beirut, as Israeli missiles rain down, the

00:07most intense bombardment here in nearly 20 years.

00:21Israel says it is targeting the headquarters and weapons stores of Islamist militant group

00:26Hezbollah. It's promised to dismantle the group.

00:29Hezbollah exploits and endangers Lebanese civilians, using them as a human shield for

00:37its weapons. We will not allow such a threat to be directed at Israeli civilians, global

00:46shipping routes and vital facilities which any other sovereign state would never permit.

00:53Hezbollah denies that there are any weapons in the buildings targeted by Israel, and this

00:58latest bombing campaign will push up a death toll here that is already in the hundreds

01:03in the last week. Tens of thousands have been displaced.

01:07There is an Israeli aggression against Lebanon of unprecedented magnitude, and this aggression

01:16is in full swing. The attacking military of the occupying power is using its superior

01:27air power and its state-of-the-art military technology to commit war crimes and crimes

01:36against humanity on a daily basis.

01:38Hezbollah, backed by Iran and with links to Hamas in Gaza, also launched several rockets

01:44into northern Israel overnight. Clashes with Hezbollah have been increasing alongside Israel's

01:49war against Hamas in Gaza, but escalation this week has put the Middle East on the precipice

01:55of all-out war, with Israel resisting international calls for a ceasefire.

02:00War in Lebanon could lead to further escalation involving outside powers. I fully support

02:09the proposal for a temporary ceasefire, allowing for the delivery of humanitarian relief and

02:16paving the way for the resumption of serious negotiations for a durable peace across the

02:22blue line. We need a ceasefire now. We cannot afford endless negotiations as we have on

02:32Gaza. We must avoid a regional war at all costs.

02:38It's been nearly a year since a brazen attack on Israel by Hamas plunged this volatile region

02:45into a fresh round of violence. Israel's military response in Gaza has left more than 40,000

02:50Palestinians dead, according to health authorities there. And this latest dramatic escalation

02:56across Israel's northern border puts peace in the region even further out of reach.

03:02Scott Huang and Rick Lowatt for Taiwan Plus.

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