Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning on Sunday to Lebanon’s Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, not to make the mistake of entering Israel’s current war with Hamas in Gaza.
“If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will long for the Second Lebanon War,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with IDF commandos on Israel’s northern border.
“It will be making the mistake of its life. We will strike it with a force that it cannot even imagine, that will be destructive for it and for the Lebanese state,” he said. “We are ready for any scenario. You are ready for any scenario,” he told the commandos.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has been issuing similar warnings to the Iranian proxy since the summer.
Last Thursday, while visiting soldiers on the southern front with Gaza, Gallant noted that “Hezbollah is trying to challenge the State of Israel and the IDF, and has deployed [its forces] in strong defensive formations.
“The strength of the entire IDF…is at our disposal,” Gallant pointed out. “We are alert, and if Hezbollah wants to start a war, it should first look at the photographs of Gaza City.”
During a tour of the tense Mount Dov region this past August, where Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked IDF positions, Gallant repeated his warning that the IDF would destroy Lebanon if Hezbollah “makes a mistake” and chooses conflict with Israel.
In a video statement, Gallant warned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, “You have made mistakes in the past; you have paid very heavy prices. If … an escalation or conflict develops here, we will return Lebanon to the Stone Age. We will not hesitate to use all our power, and erode every inch of Hezbollah and Lebanon if we have to.”
