Hezbollah’s deputy chief warned that a war on Lebanon would cost both Hezbollah and the Israeli side heavy casualties, and some hundreds of thousands more Israelis would have to flee the northern parts of the State. Naim Qassem’s statements on the backdrop of Israel show that Netanyahu is ‘on the verge’ of launching a large-scale military campaign along the northern front.
Since the start of Israel’s operation in Gaza in October, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have continued exchanging attacks across the borders in the Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah said its attack is in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and will continue until Israeli troops pull out of the coastal strip.
The current hostility has led to the deaths of tens of people in Israel and hundreds more in Lebanon, plus thousands of people have been rendered homeless. Hezbollah does not want to go to war, Qassem said in an interview conducted from Beirut for the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen. But if Israel does unleash a war, he said,
“We will respond to it, and there will be heavy casualties on both sides.”
Besides, he reiterated his group’s willingness to continue supporting Gaza until the attacks go on.
However, a high-ranking Israel official had it that Netanyahu is plotting future attacks on Hezbollah more aggressively within the near future but without a specific time frame. , Writing in an opinion piece in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily on Wednesday, Israel’s Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, said that the Israeli forces are within striking distance of achieving the goals set for the Gaza Strip and will soon pivot to the northern border.
The situation has been criticized by Israel’s opposition leaders, such as Benny Gantz, who called for more efficient action by the government against Hezbollah to protect the northern population.
Hezbollah has complained that recent Israeli airstrikes on what the latter claims to have been Hezbollah weapons storage sites have led to the injuring of civilians, some of whom have been children. In return, Hezbollah claimed to have carried out several operations against Israelis, particularly against the military installations, stressing the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East.
