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Netanyahu: Hezbollah Dealt ‘Blows It Couldn’t Have Imagined’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via REUTERS
JNS.org – Israel struck Hezbollah in its Beirut stronghold in ways the group never anticipated, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday, speaking after an airstrike killed a senior terrorist leader in the city and days after thousands of operatives were wounded in attacks attributed to Jerusalem.
“If Hezbollah did not understand the message, I promise you: It will understand the message,” the prime minister said in remarks shared by his office.
Israel dealt Hezbollah “a series of blows it couldn’t have imagined,” he said.
“We are determined to return our residents to their homes in the north safely. No country can tolerate shooting at its residents, shooting at its cities, and we—the State of Israel—will not tolerate it either,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s government remains determined to do “everything necessary to restore security” along the country’s northern border, he added.
Earlier on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a visit to an IAF base said that the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist army had begun “to sense some of the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces.
“Our moves will continue until the goal is achieved. We will use everything necessary to fulfill the mission, until we reach a situation where we can return the residents of the north to their homes safely,” he said.
Thousands of terrorists were wounded and at least dozens were killed when their pagers and radio devices exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with Hezbollah immediately blaming the Jewish state’s intelligence agencies for both attacks.
The IDF has declined to comment on the two waves of explosions—the first of which came hours after the Israeli Cabinet added the return of residents displaced from their homes in the north to the country’s war goals.
On Friday afternoon, the IDF took credit for a targeted airstrike that killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil—alias Al-Hajj Abdul Khader—in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Aqil was a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s top “military” body, the Jihad Council, which is subordinate to the Shura Council and under the direct control of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog revealed in an interview with Britain’s Sky News on Sunday that Aqil and his associates were targeted as they were discussing plans for an Oct. 7-style invasion of Israeli territory.
Hezbollah “has been armed to its teeth by the Iranian empire of evil, and all of these leaders who were eradicated on Friday by the Israeli attack, all of these leaders, were meeting together in order to launch the same horrific, horrendous attack that we had on Oct. 7 by Hamas,” Herzog said.
Hezbollah has attacked Israel nearly daily since Oct. 8, 2023, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. The attacks have killed more than 40 people and caused widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the violence.
Several people were hurt when Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets and drones at northern Israeli towns and cities in waves of attacks overnight Saturday and Sunday morning.
In addition, a 17-year-old boy died in a car crash on Sunday believed to have been caused by a driver distracted by air-raid sirens.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the launches, saying that it had sent “dozens of Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 missiles” at the Ramat David Airbase and a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems facility near Haifa. This reportedly marked the first time that it has used this type of weapon since Oct. 8.
Hezbollah said that the projectiles launched were “in response to the repeated Israeli attacks that targeted various Lebanese regions and led to the fall of many civilian martyrs,” in reference to last week’s device blasts.
The post Netanyahu: Hezbollah Dealt ‘Blows It Couldn’t Have Imagined’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Vows to Press on with Offensive
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, August 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighborhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
Fire lit the skies from the direction of the explosions, causing panic, prompting some families to stream out of the city. Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area.
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as the last bastion of Hamas. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday vowed to press on with the offensive on the city where famine has been declared, which has raised alarm abroad and objections at home. Katz has said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas agrees to end the war on Israel’s terms and release all hostages.
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City showed it wasn’t serious about a ceasefire.
It said a ceasefire agreement was “the only way to return the hostages,” holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for their lives.
The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Once a temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all 50 hostages – of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living – and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel.
‘HUNGRY AND AFRAID’
Around half of the enclave’s two million people currently live in Gaza City. A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app. “No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. “We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money.”
A global hunger monitor said on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread. Israel has rejected the assessment and says it ignores steps it has taken since late July to increase aid.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.