Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah against invading Israel and further widening the Jewish state’s ongoing war with Hamas, vowing that such a decision would be met with overwhelming retaliation.
If Hezbollah were to cross the border from Lebanon into Israel, “it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating,” Israel’s leader said while addressing soldiers in northern Israel on Sunday.
Hamas earlier this month perpetrated a brutal massacre in Israel, killing over 1,400 civilians including women and children, some of whom were tortured, raped, maimed, burned alive. More than 200 Israelis were dragged back into Gaza, where they’re being held hostage.
Israel has responded with a massive barrage of airstrikes on Gaza while the IDF prepares a ground invasion, which was approved last week by the Israeli war cabinet. Netanyahu and opposition-party leader Benny Gantz agreed to form the small war cabinet as part of an emergency unity government. Israel urged Palestinians to evacuate to the south of the strip ahead of its planned ground operation.
Hezbollah has hinted at its future involvement in the ongoing war, with a top official saying a couple weeks ago that the group is “fully ready” to help Hamas fight Israel.
“The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly, telling us not to interfere will have no effect,” Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said. “Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment.”
A few days after Hamas’ onslaught, Hezbollah fired rockets into Northern Israel. Hezbollah has had some limited clashes with Israeli troops along the Lebanese border without rolling out a larger offensive. Israel urged citizens in the north to evacuate in anticipation of escalation with Hezbollah.
The U.S. has deployed two carrier groups to the Mediterranean to deter other enemies in Israel’s neighborhood. The head of a prominent Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, called Kataib Hezbollah, then threatened to attack U.S. military bases should America intervene in the war.
Israel’s military said Monday that its airstrikes hit 320 Hamas targets in Gaza over the last 24 hours while it readies “a maneuver in the Gaza Strip,” the Associated Press reported.