The chief of staff for the Israel Defense Forces has warned that the “possibility of war” in Lebanon is at an all-time high following the latest series of missile attacks between the IDF and Hezbollah.
Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday that Israel is “increasing readiness for war in Lebanon” while speaking to troops stationed near the Lebanese border, the Times of Israel reported.
“I don’t know when the war is in the north [will happen]. I can tell you that the chances of it happening in the coming months are higher than in the past,” said Halevi.
The chief stated that the IDF will focus on allowing the more than 80,000 Israelis displaced in the north to return home. They were forced to move because of daily attacks from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon that supports Hamas.
Should war break out in the north, Halevi warned Hezbollah that Israel’s response would be swifter than when it launched a counterattack against Hamas.
“We have [learned] many lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to the fighting in Lebanon,” said Halevi.
“I can tell you that I think we started it with more of an advantage,” he added of the possibility of war.
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi warned of the possibility of war in Lebanon in the coming months while addressing troops in northern Israel on Wednesday. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images The IDF immediately spotted a terrorist cell in Lebanon that launched a rocket attack on the Israeli town of Rosh Hanikra. X/@idfonline The IDF destroyed several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. X/@idfonline
The message came just minutes after the IDF cleared a terrorist cell in southern Lebanon after the group launched a rocket attack on the northern Israeli town of Rosh Hanikra.
The terrorist group was struck within minutes of the attack on the Israeli city, the IDF said.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it claims was carried out by its branch in Lebanon. The group said that only one of its members was killed in the Israeli attack.
Following the attack on the terrorist cell, the IDF carried out several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, destroying Hezbollah-operated rocket launch sites and other infrastructure.
Israeli artillery units opened fire across the Lebanese border as attacks and counter-attacks took place daily. Getty Images
As of Sunday, the IDF reported that five Israeli civilians had been killed in clashes with Lebanese Hezbollah militants since the war in Gaza began, with 10 more soldiers and reservists killed in the conflict.
Rising tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border have fueled fears that the war in Gaza will spread and plunge the entire region into chaos.
Along with Hezbollah, the Yemen-based Houthi rebel group has launched a series of attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea in support of its ally Hamas, threatening global supply routes.
Smoke billows in southern Lebanon following Israeli airstrikes. AFP via Getty Images
The Houthis have stated that their attacks on ships linked to Israel will not stop even after the US re-designates the militants as a terrorist organization.
The hostility from the Iran-backed terror group came as foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed Wednesday that the violence will only end when the war in Gaza ends.
“If the massacre in Gaza stops, then it will lead to the end of other crises and attacks in the region,” Amir-Abdollahian said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Iran’s foreign minister also told CNN that his country is nearing a “real substantive peace agreement,” with Yemeni and Saudi leaders over Houthi interference in global trade, as Iran relies on the affected route for its oil exports.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
