The News
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli strikes had killed the presumptive successors to Hezbollah’s recently assassinated leader, hammering the Lebanese group on its home territory and in neighboring Syria.
His comments came hours after Hezbollah broached a direct truce with Israel — notably dropping demands for a Gaza ceasefire ahead of any cessation of hostilities — while the US and Arab states are reportedly pushing Iran, whose proxies are battling Israel, to agree a multifront pause.
But Israel is not part of the talks, and a senior Palestinian official told The National that there was “no willingness” on Israel’s part for a ceasefire. Following Netanyahu’s comments, Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant promised Israel’s anticipated retaliatory strike on Iran would be such that the Islamic Republic “won’t understand what happened to it, or how,” The Times of Israel reported.
Later on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden for the first time in months, apparently to discuss Israel’s plans to attack Iran, Axios reported.