‘Israel does not seek war, but we have duty, right to defend our people’: President Herzog

Israel President Isaac Herzog stressed on Monday that Israel is not seeking war with Hezbollah but is defending its citizens from attacks by the Lebanon-based terror group.

"I repeat and reiterate: Israel does not seek war. But we have the right and the duty to defend our people," Herzog said in a post on X.

Posting a video in the post, the Israeli president said that Hezbollah stores and launches missiles in civilian areas and homes, adding that thousands of long-range rockets are kept in the houses and are launched with the intent of killing the Israeli people.

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"Here’s just an example of the threat we face. This IDF video shows how Hezbollah stores and launches missiles in civilian areas and homes. Thousands and thousands of long-range rockets are kept in houses, living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens, and then launched with the sole intention of killing our people," he said.

The president further asked, "Would you accept this in your or your neighbor’s home? What nation would accept its citizens living under such a threat from its neighbours?"

Earlier on Sunday, Herzog said that his country did not want this war with Hezbollah, stressing that this war was waged upon Israel by the proxies of the empire of the evil of Iran, on October 7 by Hamas, and on October 8 by Hezbollah.

"This is the real watershed in the world," Herzog said. "The world has to stop this. The world has to be with us. And the world has to understand that we are fighting for the free world and we must bring our hostages back home as soon as possible. This is the biggest plight of humanity at this current stage."

The President's remarks come after Israel and Lebanon heavily fired overnight, following a string of attacks against Hezbollah.

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On Friday last week, an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed a top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, among others, in the deadliest targeting of the Lebanese capital since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Earlier, after Israel's alleged role in the pagers' explosions across Lebanon, Hezbollah had vowed retaliation after those explosive devices killed dozens of people.

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(With inputs from agencies)