Israel Gaza Lebanon live updates: More aid lorries enter Gaza after US threat to cut Israel's military support - BBC News

Oct 16, 2024

Joel GunterReporting from Beirut

The scene in southern Beirut on Wednesday, after the Israeli strikes

The Israeli air strikes on Beirut this morning –after five days of respite for the Lebanese capital – came just hours after theUS said it opposed the "scope and nature" of Israel’s bombing campaign on thecity.

State department spokesman Matthew Miller told a briefing onTuesday that the US had expressed its concerns to Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, saying they were "made clear to the government of Israel".

As my colleagues covered earlier, there had beenreports that the unexpected pause in air strikes against Beirut was the resultof a US intervention.

The strikes on Wednesday morning came shortly afterNetanyahu rejected the idea of a ceasefire that would leave Hezbollah close tothe northern Israeli border.

He told the French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hewas "opposed to a unilateral ceasefire which does not change the security situationin Lebanon, and which would return the country to its previous state" according to a read-out from his office.

Also on Tuesday, in a televised address, Hezbollah's deputyleader Naim Qassem said the only solution to the recent escalation was a ceasefire - while also threatening to continue targeting Israel with missiles.

Before the recent pause, Israel had hit southern Beirut on a near-daily basis