More tension in the Middle East: Israel warns Iran that it will attack Hezbollah with “full force” if it continues in southern Lebanon
The Israeli Foreign Minister warned Iran that it will attack Hezbollah “with full force” if the Shiite militia continues in southern Lebanon and that it will be “destroyed” if it persists in its threats.
Israel Katz responded in these terms to a statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations (UN) that if Israel launched a “comprehensive military aggression” against Lebanon, ” All options, including full involvement of the axis of resistance, would be on the table.”
The government official sent a “clear” response to Tehran through the social network X (formerly Twitter): “If Hezbollah does not cease fire and withdraw from southern Lebanon, we will act against it with all our might until security is restored and the inhabitants can return to their homes“, he wrote. In the message, he also warned Tehran that “a regime that threatens to destroy deserves to be destroyed”, in a cross of statements that occurs at a particularly alarming moment on the border between Israel and Lebanon
However, the The Saudi Arabian embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens to leave the country immediately due to the risk of an “all-out war” between the Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Israeli army. According to the Saudi state news agency SPA, on Saturday the embassy also appealed to all Saudi Arabian nationals to refrain from traveling to Lebanon due to clashes on the southern border with Israel.
Several countries advise against traveling to Lebanon
Riyadh assured that it is closely monitoring developments in Lebanon and urged citizens in the country to remain in contact with the Saudi embassy in Beirut in case of any emergency situation. The ad appears after, In recent days, several countries – including the United States – have advised their citizens not to travel to Lebanon for fear of a military escalation.
Hours earlier, Iran promised to retaliate against Israel if the country moves forward with a “large-scale” offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The alert comes at a time when ground attacks are taking place simultaneously in Rafah and Shujayea. At least six civilians died this Sunday, including children, victims of an attack on a house in Rafah, according to “Al Jazeeraâ€
Since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, following the Hamas attacks on October 7, Hezbollah – supported by Iran and has significant influence in Lebanon – and the Jewish army have been involved in a series rie of increasingly violent clashes.
As a result, more than 150,000 people were displaced, 60,000 on the Israeli side and 95,000 on the Lebanese side, according to estimates by the World Migration Organization (IOM), with several countries, in recent days, recommending not traveling to Lebanon, given the seriousness of the situation.
Yisrael Katz, in the foreground, alongside Benjamin Netanyahu
Artur Widak / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Netanyahu meets with Defense Minister and Southern Command
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, meets this Sunday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the army’s Southern Command – responsible for the offensive in the Gaza Strip – to discuss the implementation that of “phase C” of the war.
“Today I will make an assessment of the situation in the Southern Command. I will closely monitor the progress of the fighting and our plans to complete the objectives of the war,” said Netanyahu at the beginning of the weekly meeting with the government office.
In an interview given last week to Channel 14, Netanyahu stated that the war was about to move into the next phase, on the same day that Gallant, on his visit to Washington, signaled to his American counterparts that “phase C” of the war was about to begin. National security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi also stated the following day that the post-war plan was about to be implemented in the northern Gaza Strip, although none of the three gave further details on what the new phase entailed in the ground.
Channel 12 reported today, citing security sources, that the military operation in Rafah, in the extreme south of the Strip, has reached a situation that allows the “tactical withdrawal” of most of the troops without compromising their results and who have expanded the buffer zone in the Philadelphia Corridor – the 14-kilometer border with Egypt – where Israel is expected to maintain its presence to prevent smuggling.
“Our forces are operating in Rafah, Shujaiya and throughout the Gaza Strip. Every day they are eliminating dozens of terrorists. It is a tough fight that is being fought on the surface, sometimes in head-to-head combat, and underground”, Netanyahu said today.
Israeli security sources also say that the operation in Shujaiya, a southeastern neighborhood of Gaza city where troops resumed a military offensive on Thursday, for the third time since the start of the war, faces until Hamas returns, it could last several weeks.
Netanyahu stressed that the war will not cease until its objectives are achieved: the destruction of Hamas, the return of all those kidnapped, the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to the security of Israel and the safe return of southern residents to their homes.
“Regarding the sacred task of freeing our hostages: there is no change in our position regarding President Biden’s proposal, which we welcome. Everyone knows a simple truth: Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of our hostages“, he repeated.
