Israel warns it will extend military offensive to Lebanon if Hezbollah attacks don’t cease

01/18/2024 / By Ava Grace

Israel has warned that it will extend its military offensive to Lebanon if Hezbollah does not cease its attacks.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued this warning during a Jan. 7 interview with the Wall Street Journal. He told the outlet: “My basic view [is that] we are fighting an axis, not a single enemy. Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it.”

Gallant continued that this axis consists of Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah. He nevertheless reiterated that Israel won’t hesitate to target the group as allowing the three “to decide how we live our lives here in Israel [was] something we don’t accept.”

“They see what is happening in Gaza. They know we can copy-paste [that offensive] to Beirut,” Gallant said.

The following day, an Israeli air strike killed senior Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil. According to Reuters, Tawil and another Hezbollah operative after the air strike hit the pair’s car in the village of Majdal Selm in southern Lebanon.

Middle East Eye reported that Tawil, who went by the nom de guerre “Jawad,” was a deputy head of a unit in the elite al-Hajj Radwan Force. He played an important role in Hezbollah’s recent confrontations with the Israel Defense Forces.

Hezbollah chief warns that the group will “fight without limits”

Earlier, the chief of Hezbollah warned Israel against taking the fight to Lebanon in a televised address. The armed group’s counter-warning followed the death of Salah al-Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, in a Jan. 2 strike at the Lebanese capital Beirut. (Related: No, it was NOT a Hamas missile that destroyed the Gaza hospital – it was ISRAEL, analysis reveals.)

“Until now, we are fighting on the front with set calculations. But if the enemy [Israel] wages war on Lebanon – our fight will be without limits, rules and regulations. It knows what I mean” said Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

“Who thinks about engaging in a war with us will regret it, God willing. The war with us will be very, very, very costly. If we have been so far taking into consideration the Lebanese situation and national interests – if war is waged in Lebanon, the … national interests require that we engage in the war until the end without regulation.”

Nasrallah later warned that residents of northern Israel would be “the first to pay the price if a full-scale war were to erupt.” According to the Hezbollah chief, all of Lebanon would be exposed to further Israeli strikes if the group did not react to the assassination of Arouri.

“The response is coming; the decision has already been made. The matter now depends on what will unfold on the ground and on Allah,” he said. “We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude, because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed.”

Nasrallah also claimed that Hezbollah has carried out over 670 operations on the Israel-Lebanon border since Oct. 8, a day after Hamas operatives attacked Israel. “No site along the border has been spared,” he added, explaining that 48 Israeli border positions and 11 rear bases were targeted.

Hezbollah’s operations allegedly destroyed “large number of Israeli vehicles and tanks,” as well as technical and intelligence collection equipment. The operations served the purpose of “exhausting Israel” on the front,” Nasrallah remarked.

Visit IsraelCollapse.com for more stories about Israel’s ongoing conflict with its Middle Eastern neighbors.

Watch this clip of a Hezbollah attack destroying several Israeli military sites and equipment.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.