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Hezbollah and Israel exchanged threats, following a major escalation between the two parties, during which the party bombed Haifa, for the first time since the start of the war, while Israel expanded its targeting to the north of the Litani River and turned the area into a battlefield, with no prospect of stopping the war before the end of the Gaza war. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the dangers of turning Lebanon into “another Gaza” in the midst of an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
“What worries me is the risk of Lebanon turning into another Gaza,” Guterres told CNN two days before the start of the UN General Assembly, referring to the Palestinian enclave where a devastating war has been raging since October between Israel and Hamas.
Strikes
Israel is pushing for a military solution and doubling the escalation. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Tel Aviv had directed “a series of strikes against Hezbollah,” stressing its “determination” to return the residents who were displaced from its northern border areas with Lebanon since the conflict with the party began about a year ago.
“In recent days, we have dealt Hezbollah a series of blows that it never expected. If Hezbollah did not get the message, I assure you that it will get the message” after these strikes, Netanyahu said in a statement.
He stressed that “no country can tolerate attacks on its citizens and cities. We, the State of Israel, will not tolerate that either,” while Hezbollah threatened to enter a “new phase” of fighting with Israel, entitled the “open account” battle, after it assassinated the leaders of the “Radwan Force,” which is the party’s elite unit.
The Israeli military said it struck about 290 targets, including Hezbollah rocket launchers, and vowed “continued, more severe strikes.”
This direct military escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, which came after electronic “pager attacks” targeting members of the group throughout Lebanon, has increased the Biden administration’s concerns about the risk of a full-scale war, but it hopes to use the increasing Israeli military pressure on the party to reach a diplomatic agreement that would allow civilians to return to their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border, according to what US officials told Axios.
“Hezbollah is beginning to feel the effects” of Israel’s military capabilities, Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a statement from his office, “and they feel they are being pursued.” He said the military operations “will continue until we reach a point where we can ensure the safe return of the communities of northern Israel to their homes.” “That is our goal, that is our mission, and we will use the means necessary to achieve it,” he added.
warning
Meanwhile, White House spokesman John Kirby warned yesterday that military escalation is not in Israel’s interest, referring to recent developments between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.
In an interview with the American ABC network, he said that he does not believe that escalating the conflict militarily is in Israel’s interest. He added that his country informed the Israelis of this position, saying: “This is what we say directly to our Israeli counterparts.” He also called again for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, considering that its expansion means a comprehensive war. The American website Axios indicated that Israel and the United States are looking for ways to separate Hezbollah from Hamas. Despite the diplomatic efforts made by the Biden administration over the past months, Hezbollah has not agreed to any agreement to stop the current fighting with Israel before ending the Israeli war on Gaza.
talks
The website indicated that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Biden’s advisors Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, made several calls with their Israeli counterparts on Saturday and Sunday.
US President Biden’s envoy, Amos Hochstein, is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday in an attempt to avoid further escalation between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati also announced on Saturday that he had cancelled his trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly due to developments related to Israeli raids on Lebanon. Israeli and US officials said the Biden administration had asked Tel Aviv to refrain from taking actions such as a ground attack or large-scale airstrikes on civilian areas that could escalate the conflict into war and halt diplomatic efforts.
