Netanyahu warns Lebanon faces destruction 'like Gaza'

Smoke billows from a site targeted by the Israeli military in the southern Lebanese border village of Kafr Kila on July 29, 2024. [AFP]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the people of Lebanon Tuesday they could face "destruction and suffering" like the Palestinians in Gaza if they don't "free" their country from Hezbollah.

"You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza," Netanyahu said in a video address directed to the people of Lebanon.

"I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end."

"You stand at a significant crossroads ... Stand up and take back your country," he said.

"If you don't, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense. It doesn't care if Lebanon is dragged into a wider war."

Netanyahu said Israeli forces "took out thousands of terrorists, including (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement and the replacement of his replacement."

On Saturday, a high-level Hezbollah source said that contact had been lost with Hashem Safieddine -- widely touted as Hezbollah's next leader -- following Israeli strikes last week.

In a later comment, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari did not confirm that Safieddine had been killed.

"We attacked the headquarters in Beirut's Dahiyeh area... and we know that Safieddine was there," Rear Admiral Hagari told a televised briefing, referring to Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah bastion.

"The results of this attack are still being investigated. Hezbollah is trying to hide the details," Hagari claimed.

The Israeli military has been pummelling the southern suburbs of Beirut with continual air raids, targeting Hezbollah's leaders, military installations and weapons caches.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah had been "battered and broken" by the relentless strikes on its strongholds and the killing of its leader.