The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
US official: We’re against Israeli ground op in Lebanon, want diplomatic ‘off-ramp’
UNITED NATIONS — The United States is presenting “concrete” ideas to ease the crisis in Lebanon, a US official says, while voicing opposition to any Israeli ground invasion to target Hezbollah.
“We’ve got some concrete ideas we’re going to be discussing with allies and partners this week to try to figure out the way forward on this,” the senior US official says as world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that the United States wants to find an “off-ramp that will first and foremost prevent further escalation in the fighting.”
He voices hope that the US proposals will “reduce tensions and will segue into a diplomatic process that allows communities on both sides of the border — on both sides of the Blue Line — to safely return home in the near future.”
The official declines to describe the concrete ideas in detail but says that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior US officials will be discussing them during his meetings at the General Assembly.
The official renews opposition by the United States to a ground invasion by Israel, which has been pounding sites in Lebanon associated with the Shiite terror movement Hezbollah, nearly a year after fellow Iranian ally Hamas attacked Israel.
“I think it is important for everyone to take Israeli preparations seriously,” he says.
“We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region, to preventing an escalatory spiral of violence, and that’s in part why we are so focused on utilizing this week to explore these ideas and see if we can develop this off-ramp,” he says.
France asks UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Lebanon fighting
France requests an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss Lebanon after Israel announced an offensive military operation against Hezbollah following nearly a year of clashes with the Iran-backed terror group.
“I have requested that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be held on Lebanon this week,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells the United Nations General Assembly, calling on all sides to “avoid a regional conflagration that would be devastating for everyone,” especially civilians.
Netanyahu delays flight to NY until Wednesday night as fighting intensifies in Lebanon
As fighting continues to escalate in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight to New York is postponed until Wednesday night at midnight, his office announces.
He will land in New York on Thursday morning, and will deliver his address to the United Nations on Friday morning.
IDF: Some 1,600 strikes launched the past day against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The military says Israeli aircraft have attacked several hundred more Hezbollah targets in the past few hours, raising the number of strikes in Lebanon against the terror group over the past day to 1,600.
According to an Israel Defense Forces statement, the latest airstrikes across Lebanon struck launch sites, command posts and military facilities used by Hezbollah.
Hamas armed wing says field commander in south Lebanon was killed in Israeli strike
Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, says that its field commander in southern Lebanon, Mahmoud al Nader, was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on Monday.
Saudi Arabia urges restraint as fighting escalates in Lebanon
Saudi Arabia has expressed deep concern in a statement over security developments in Lebanon, warning of escalating violence and urging all parties to exercise restraint, state news agency SPA reports.