Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that any possible escalation by Lebanese Iran-backed militia Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border may result in the “destruction” of Lebanon.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah © Mena Today
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that any possible escalation by Lebanese Iran-backed militia Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border may result in the “destruction” of Lebanon.
Netanyahu said the Israeli army was being proactive in fighting the Iran-backed terror group and had adopted a policy of “strong deterrence in the north” against Hezbollah, according to the Times of Israel.
“We are acting in the north all the time against all efforts by Hezbollah to operate against us. We are eliminating terror cells, pushing them away from the border, destroying munitions. We will continue with strong deterrence in the north, and total victory in the south,” he said.
“It should be clear, we are committed to restoring security to the south and the north. If Hezbollah makes a mistake and enters into a full-out war it will destroy Lebanon with its own hands,” Netanyahu warned.
Hezbollah, a long-time ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, has been escalating its rhetoric against Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7. The Lebanese militia has also been launching cross-border attacks against Israeli targets to which Israel would return fire.
Recently, Israel’s forces and Hezbollah’s members have been exchanging heavy fire across the Israel-Lebanon border. Both sides claimed to have struck targets during the attacks which covered several areas of the border.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation Thursday that would authorize up to $1.2 billion in security assistance to Lebanon over five years, with part of the funding conditioned on Beirut's progress toward a state monopoly on arms and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Lebanon and Israel have agreed a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah under a U.S.-brokered agreement, a Lebanese official said on Friday, with the United States due to pick countries from the list.
The French consulate in Lebanon announced on X that non-biometric Lebanese passports are no longer accepted for Schengen visa applications at Beirut's TLS center, which handles visa requests for France and other consular services.
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