Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday, April 9, 2026, that military operations against Hezbollah would continue without pause, one day after Israel’s most devastating single-day assault on Lebanon killed 254 people and drew widespread international condemnation that now threatens to collapse the fragile United States-Iran ceasefire.
Netanyahu posted on his personal account on Thursday: “We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with force, precision, and determination,” adding that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would continue hitting Hezbollah wherever necessary until full security was restored to residents of northern Israel.
Israel also confirmed it had killed Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, in an airstrike near Beirut on Wednesday. The IDF described Harshi as a close associate who played a central role in managing and securing Qassem’s office.
The Israeli attacks on Wednesday involved some fifty fighter jets and around 160 munitions, striking central Beirut without prior warning, including at least five commercial and residential neighbourhoods. Israel called the operation “Operation Eternal Darkness,” saying it hit over 100 Hezbollah targets within ten minutes. Among the sites struck were two key crossings over the Litani River and weapons storage facilities, command centres, and rocket launchers.
Lebanon’s prime minister’s office declared Thursday a national day of mourning, ordering the closure of public administrations and the lowering of flags to honour the dead.
Hezbollah said its rocket fire into northern Israel on Thursday morning came in response to what it described as Israeli ceasefire violations, vowing that the response would continue until the aggression ceased.
The strikes have directly complicated the two-week truce agreed between Washington and Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the United States must choose between a ceasefire or continued war via Israel, stating it cannot have both.
France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have all called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the Israeli attacks as deeply damaging, while Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Netanyahu’s contempt for life and international law was intolerable.
United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said the scale of killing and destruction in Lebanon was nothing short of horrific, adding that such carnage within hours of the Iran ceasefire defied belief.
The United States and Israel maintain that the two-week truce does not cover Lebanon. President Donald Trump described the Israeli strikes as a separate skirmish not included in the ceasefire agreement. Talks between the United States and Iran are still scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Saturday under Pakistani mediation, though the Lebanon dispute remains the most immediate threat to those negotiations proceeding.
