The Israeli defence minister has accused the United Nations of shirking its responsibility in preventing Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Yoav Gallant made the allegation on X in response to comments by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres that the situation in Gaza was a “nightmare” and Lebanon is “on the brink”.

Mr Gallant said Hezbollah has taken Lebanon “hostage.” 

“The UN is neither acknowledging their actions, nor fulfilling its fundamental obligation – preventing Hezbollah attacks and demanding the implementation of Resolution 1701,” he said.

That resolution requires Hezbollah to disarm.

Iran: Israel’s ‘state terrorism’ cannot go unanswered

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the United Nations General Assembly as tensions escalate in the Middle East.

“Naturally, blind Israeli state terrorism over the past few days in Lebanon… cannot go unanswered,” he said. 

“The responsibility of all consequences will be borne by those governments who have thwarted all global efforts to end this horrific catastrophe.”

He called for “a permanent ceasefire” and for leaders to “bring an end to the desperate barbarism” of Israel in Lebanon “before it engulfs the region and the world”.

Israeli ambassador says suffering could end ‘in one minute’

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, spoke to The World with Yalda Hakim after the Iranian president’s speech to the UN.

“We can end all the suffering, both in Lebanon and in Israel, in one minute,” said Mr Danon. 

“All it takes is for Hezbollah to stop sending rockets and missiles into Israel.”

He put the blame on the Lebanese government, saying it was up to it to “stop talking and take action against Hezbollah”.

‘Vast’ Hezbollah project to turn civilian homes into ‘terror bases’ exposed, says IDF

Israeli military actions in Lebanon are exposing what Hezbollah has been doing “for the past 20 years”, an IDF spokesman has said.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told journalists the militant group has orchestrated a “vast project” to turn “thousands of civilian homes” in Lebanon into “terror bases”.

Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon “into a combat zone”, he said.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had found ammunition in people’s homes. 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanese citizens in a message this evening: “Anyone who has a missile in their living room and a rocket in their garage will not have a home.”