Netanyahu: Lebanon could experience 'destruction similar to Gaza'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Lebanon could face "destruction and suffering like that in Gaza" if its people do not "liberate" the country from Hezbollah, News.Az reports citing Deutsche Welle.

"I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end," he said in a video message on Tuesday.

He added that Lebanon used to be called "the pearl of the Middle East" known for its "tolerance and beauty" before "a gang of tyrants and terrorists destroyed it" and turned it into a place of "chaos and war."

Netanyahu added that Iran, which arms and finances Hezbollah, has turned Lebanon into a "stockpile of ammunition and weapons … a forward Iranian military base."

Finally, he said that, following a series of Israeli strikes against its leadership, "Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years" and that the Lebanese people were now at a "significant crossroads."

News.Az