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Agence France-Presse

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the “Iranian threat” in a call with US president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday as the wars in Gaza and Lebanon show no sign of easing.
Saudi state media also reported that the Gulf heavyweight’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke to Trump to congratulate him. A trip to Riyadh was Trump’s first foreign visit after he took office in 2017.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement the Israeli premier “congratulated Trump on his election victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel’s security.
“The two also discussed the Iranian threat,” it added.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said Wednesday tens of thousands of its militants were ready to fight Israel, adding that the US election result would have no bearing on the war in Lebanon.
Its leader warned that nowhere in Israel would be “off-limits” to attacks, as the Israeli military said about 120 projectiles were fired across the border on Wednesday.

Israel’s military also said a missile was fired into southern Israel from central Gaza, where it has battled the Tehran-backed Hamas group since Palestinian militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hezbollah’s main bastion of south Beirut came under Israeli air attack after a warning to evacuate.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since late September, when the Israeli military widened the focus of its Gaza war to securing its northern border with Lebanon. Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border attacks on Israel last year, in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas after the October 7 attack.
Efforts to end the war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas attack have yet to bear fruit, and the war in Lebanon has killed at least 3,050 people since October 2023, the health ministry said Wednesday.
In a televised speech marking 40 days since his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike, new Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said: “We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” ready to fight.
His address aired after Trump’s victory was announced, but had been recorded earlier.
Qassem said whoever won the election would have no impact on any possible ceasefire deal for Lebanon.
“What will stop this … war is the battlefield” he said, citing fighting in south Lebanon and Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah announced Wednesday it had Iran-made Fatah 110 missiles, a weapon with a 300km range that military expert Riad Kahwaji described as the group’s “most accurate”.
It also said it targeted a naval base near the Haifa in Israel with drones and missiles, the fourth attack on the base in as many weeks.
In Gaza, where the 13-month war has had a devastating impact, people were desperate for a solution and voiced the hope Trump might offer one.
“We were displaced, killed … there’s nothing left for us, we want peace,” said 60-year-old Mamdouh al-Jadba, who was displaced to Gaza City from Jabalia.
“I hope Trump finds a solution, we need someone strong like Trump to end the war and save us.”
Netanyahu earlier feted Trump’s “huge victory” as “history’s greatest comeback”.
The United States is Israel’s top ally and military backer, and the election came at a critical time for the Middle East.
While maintaining the steady flow of aid to Israel, US President Joe Biden’s administration had for months piled pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a truce.
Analysts say Netanyahu wanted a Trump return, given their long-standing personal friendship and the American’s hawkishness on Israel’s arch-foe Iran.


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US presidential election 2024

Israel’s Netanyahu discusses ‘Iranian threat’ with Trump

Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the Israel museum in Jerusalem in May 2017. Photo: AP

A man sits on a public bench beneath a large hoarding congratulating US president-elect Donald Trump in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Smoke billows from the Israeli border community of Avivim after the area was struck by a projectile fired from Lebanon on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Israel’s Netanyahu fires Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in shock move, sparking protests

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant hold a press coference in Tel Aviv in October 2023. Photo: Reuters

Israelis demonstrate in Tel Aviv after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (left) attends a ceremony in Jerusalem marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas October 7 attack. Photo: AFP

US Vice-President Kamala Harris formally concedes election to Donald Trump

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee,   conceding the 2024 election to Donald Trump at Howard University in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters 

Supporters of Kamala Harris become emotional as she concedes the 2024 presidential election at Howard University in Washington on Wednesday. Harris’ term as US vice-president ends in January. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

EU has wish list for Trump, but support for his tough China agenda will be expected

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meets Donald Trump at Trump’s home in Florida on July 11. Photo: X via Reuters

Ursula von der Leyen is president of the EU Commission. Photo: EPA-EFE

The political coalition of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on the verge of collapse. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Middle East

US Elections

Tehran-backed Hezbollah says its militants are ready to fight Israel, and the US election result will have no bearing on the war in Lebanon


Tehran-backed Hezbollah says its militants are ready to fight Israel, and the US election result will have no bearing on the war in Lebanon.
