Israel needs to act in self-defence against Hezbollah attacks which have caused areas of the north to become “ghost cities”, the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said.
Speaking to Sky News, Tzipi Hotovely compared the scale of evacuations from large areas of northern Israel to major UK cities.
“Can you imagine cities like Manchester and Liverpool being evacuated for months? For over a year?” she said.
“Cities in the north of Israel are abandoned, they’re ghost cities. No one can live there because they’re under fire. This is exactly why we need to act in self-defence.”
Ms Hotovely said Iran was trying to create a “circle of fire around Israel” through its support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas militant group in Gaza, on Israel’s southern border.
She also said Israel was “serious” about agreeing a deal which would see the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
“Israel is willing to go for a hostage deal. But it’s Hamas that being the hardliner here that doesn’t want to compromise,” she said.
She said Hamas could end the war “today” by releasing those being held captive.
US orders two carrier strike groups to remain in Middle East
The US is strengthening its presence in the Middle East after the attacks by Israel and Hezbollah led to heightened tensions in the region.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered for two aircraft carrier strike groups to remain stationed in the region, the Pentagon has said, as it summarised a call between him and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.
The Pentagon had initially deployed the Abraham Lincoln strike group into the region with a plan to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group.
Hamas says it fired rocket at Tel Aviv
Hamas’s armed wing claims to have fired a rocket at Tel Aviv in Israel.
The militant group says the attack is in response to Israeli “massacres against civilians”.
The Israeli military also reports that warning sirens have been sounding in Rishon LeTsiyon, which lies around eight kilometres (five miles) south of Tel Aviv.