The speech was organized by the PACE Commission on Legal Issues and Human Rights. Assange said he was free because he "pleaded guilty to being a journalist."

The decision to launch the ground operation was made by Israel's "political echelon," the IDF said. The invasion of Lebanon will be carried out in parallel with the war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military added. 95 people were killed in the invasion, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, while three people died in Syria.