IRAN’s threat of massive destruction if Israel attacks Lebanon earned an equally bold response from the Jewish state. The latest war of words between the two archenemies came as the war in Gaza showed signs of spilling over into a wider regional conflict.
Are Hezbollah and Israel ready for a full-scale war?
Iran’s mission to the United Nations recently called out Israel over its warnings of military action in Lebanon as “psychological warfare” and “propaganda”.
It added that an “obliterating war” is sure to happen the moment Israel launches a full-scale attack on Lebanon.
Moreover, the so-called Axis of Resistance or alliance of armed groups backed by Iran, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Houthis, and Iraqi Shiite militias will support Lebanon in the event of a conflict.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Iran’s statement by threatening to act with full force if Hezbollah does not stop firing toward Israel and move away from southern Lebanon. Kantz added that Iran’s latest threat to sow destruction on Israel makes the Islamic Republic deserving to be destroyed.
‘’My response to Iran is clear. If Hezbollah does not cease its fire and withdraw from southern Lebanon, we will act against it with full force until security is restored and residents can return to their homes. A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed,’’ Israel Katz Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
Cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified since October. At least 7,400 attacks were recorded across the border from October 7, 2023, to June 21, 2024, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). The fighting also resulted in hundreds of deaths from both sides.
“It’s very hard to be here, every boom that I hear makes me freeze. I’m hoping for better days but now I’m stuck to my place and I’m not going to leave here. I’m here to stay,” Yuval Malka Resident from northern Israel said.
“This means a lot of hits, the Iron Dome would not be able to cover everything, we may be cut off from electricity, cut off from the internet. We are on the verge of war over here in the north which we didn’t initiate, we didn’t want. We have no business in Lebanon, I wish I could go to Lebanon as a tourist, I wish there was peace with the Lebanese. We are dealing with enemies that want me out of here and maybe even want me dead,” Lieutenant Colonel Sarit Zehavi Founder, Alma-Israel Research Center said.
“Neither threats nor intimidation will benefit (the U.S.), and (we) know that no one in this world will dissuade us from fulfilling our legal, moral, and humanitarian duty to support our oppressed people in Gaza,” Hussein Jashi, Hezbollah MP said.
“Everything you see here is for the resistance (Hezbollah), and Israel will not scare us or intimidate us. We will come to our town, and we will return to it,” Ali Jaafar Resident in Lebanon said.
Hezbollah is coordinating with Iran in forming a strategy to neutralize the capability of the Israeli Air Force and is already preparing for different scenarios in the event of an all-out conflict.
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