Israel strikes Lebanon after discussing 'Iranian threat' with Trump

Israel launched fresh strikes on south Beirut early Thursday, just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump discussed the "Iranian threat."

The Israeli premier was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling the re-election "history's greatest comeback."

Over the phone on Wednesday, the two leaders "agreed to work together for Israel's security" and "discussed the Iranian threat," Netanyahu's office stated.

Not long afterward, the Israeli military launched its latest strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah's main stronghold in south Beirut, with footages showing orange flashes and plumes of smoke over the densely populated suburb.

The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, urging residents to leave four neighborhoods, including one near the international airport.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry reported that Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 40 people, with rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.

"The series of Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek killed 40 people and injured 53," the ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah has pledged that the outcome of the U.S. election would have no bearing on the war, which escalated in September as the Israeli military widened its focus from Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon.

In a televised speech recorded before Trump's victory but aired afterward, new Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem stated: "We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants ready to fight."

"What will stop this war is the battlefield," he added.

Qassem, who became Hezbollah's secretary-general last week, warned that nowhere in Israel would be "off-limits."

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