US senator condemns Israeli operations in Lebanon, urges end to US military aid

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday criticized Israeli military operations in Lebanon and renewed his demand for the US to halt military assistance to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The Trump-Netanyahu war is not just about Iran," Sanders wrote on US social media company X.

Sanders cited remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who recently reportedly said, "The fate of southern Lebanon will be the same as that of Gaza."

The senator said 2,702 people have been killed in Lebanon, with 1.6 million displaced, and dozens of villages destroyed during the conflict, which began March 2, when the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in response to Tel Aviv's killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late February.

"No more US military aid to Netanyahu," he added.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, which triggered retaliation from Iran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite a ceasefire announced April 17 and extended until May 17, the Israeli army continues daily strikes in Lebanon and widespread demolition of homes in dozens of villages, echoing its years-long devastation of the Gaza Strip.