Israel warns to 'wipe' Lebanon off face of Earth

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned to wipe Lebanon off the face of earth if Hezbollah enters into war with Israel.

In an official transcript of a briefing the Israeli PM said that he cannot tell right now if Hezbollah will decide to enter the (Gaza) war fully or not.

However, Hezbollah entering the war would be devastating. PM Netanyahu warned Hezbollah against opening a second war front with Israel, saying that doing so would bring Israeli counter-strikes of “unimaginable” magnitude that would wreak “devastation” upon Lebanon.

Israel steps up Gaza strikes ahead of ground invasion

Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the Gaza conflict is “do or die” for Israel.

Israel heavily bombarded Gaza overnight after warning it would intensify strikes ahead of a ground invasion, as the war entered its third week on Sunday.

As fears mount of a wider conflagration, the Pentagon said it was bolstering its forces in the Middle East to “assist in the defence” of US ally Israel amid “escalations by Iran and its proxy forces” across the region.

A first trickle of aid entered the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross were described as a “drop in the ocean” given the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation for 2.4 million people.

It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s history and coincided with the end of the religious holiday of Sukkot.

The retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swathes of densely populated Gaza to smouldering ruins.