Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza yesterday, using a defiant speech at the UN general assembly to denounce the world body as an "antisemitic swamp" and insist Israel is "winning" its multi-front wars.

- Emma Graham-Harrison

He said Israel would continue "degrading" Hezbollah, in effect rejecting plans for a 21-day ceasefire that had been backed by the US and France and drawn up in close collaboration with the Israeli government.

Israel's air war against Hezbollah has killed 700 people inside Lebanon this week and the military said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion, fuelling fears the cross-border war could escalate into a full-blown wider conflagration.

An hour after Netanyahu's speech ended, Israel launched heavy airstrikes on southern Beirut, reportedly targeting the Hezbollah command centre and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. It was unclear if he had been hit, but dozens were reported wounded in the attack.

World leaders gathered in New York for the UN general assembly this week had used their moment in the global spotlight to plead for a halt to the war in Gaza and across the Lebanese border.