‘Declaration of war’: Israel, Hezbollah on brink
Israel has launched strikes into southern Lebanon as world leaders call for a ceasefire between the nation and Hezbollah.
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Israel’s military launched widespread strikes in southern Lebanon as fears grow of an all-out war erupting with militant group Hezbollah.
On Friday morning (AEST), the Israeli army struck hundreds of targets across its northern border, hitting “hundreds of rocket launcher barrels” ready to be fired toward Israel.
Air strikes had also taken out “approximately 100 launchers and additional terrorist infrastructure sites”, it claimed.
Hezbollah carried out at least 17 strikes of its own on Israel, according to Al Jazeera.
The fresh blows followed “unprecedented” mass bomb attacks on Hezbollah personnel via rigged pagers and walkie talkies earlier this week, which killed 37 people including children.
Israel has not officially taken responsibility but the operation is widely believed to have been carried out by its intelligence agency, Mossad.
There have been calls from world leaders for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed political and military group seen as a terrorist organisation by much of the West, with open warfare risking devastation for the region.
The US was “afraid and concerned about potential escalation”, according to White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
A spokesperson said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, local time, to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine.
“They also discussed the need for de-escalation in Lebanon and a commitment to a diplomatic solution that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to safety return to their homes,” the spokesperson, Matthew Miller said.
Mr Macron said a “diplomatic path exists” in Lebanon, and war was “not inevitable”.
The French president also said “nothing, no regional adventure, no private interest, no loyalty to any cause merits triggering a conflict in Lebanon”.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy also called for an “immediate ceasefire from both sides”, after urging British nationals to leave Lebanon.
Fears of growing conflict in the Middle East has led US carrier Delta Air Lines to announce it is suspending direct flights between New York and Tel Aviv until next year.
The US airline joins a host of other airlines that have cancelled or suspended flights in recent days to cities in the region including Beirut and Tehran.
“Delta flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv will be paused through Dec. 31, due to ongoing conflict in the region,” the airline said in a statement.
Israel’s attacks on Gaza also continued on Friday morning, Australian time, with Al Jazeera reporting several people were killed in the Palestinian territory.
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The leader of Hezbollah had earlier said Israel’s mass attacks on electronic devices in Lebanon were planned to kill “thousands,” that it crossed “all red lines,” and was a “declaration of war”.
At exactly the same moment as Hassan Nasrallah made those comments, Israeli fighter jets screamed over Beirut in what was reported was a mock attack while Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon were bombed.
It was almost certainly a message from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was in fighting mode as the region teeters on the brink of conflict.
Earlier an Israeli official said it had “approved battle plans,” for a potential confrontation with Hezbollah.
The country’s aim, it says, is to allow 60,000 people to return to their homes on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, an area which has seen regular rocket attacks by Hezbollah. That could mean pushing back Hezbollah to beyond the Litani River, blunting some of its attacks.
But Nasrallah said on his Thursday broadcast that “no total war will return your settlers to the border areas,” and only a cessation of hostilities in Gaza would bring some semblance of peace.
Iran also chimed in on Thursday, saying Israel would face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance,” the term given to its proxies, including Hezbollah.
’Declaration of war’
Nasrallah’s comments come after two bloody attacks in Lebanon that killed 37 people and injured thousands on Tuesday and Wednesday
Hezbollah has blamed both attacks on Israel but Israel has still failed to confirm its involvement.
Many of those injured have lost fingers, hands and even eyes as they peered at the pagers before they blew up.
Nasrallah said the “enemy” had violated “all limits, rules, and red lines,” he said.
“The Israeli enemy intended to kill not less than 5000 people in two minutes and with no consideration for any restraint.
“We’ll call them Tuesday’s massacre and Wednesday’s massacre.
“It can be called war crimes or a declaration of war – whatever you choose to name it, it is deserving and fits the description. This was the enemy’s intention.
He admitted that the electronic attacks were “unprecedented and major blows” against Hezbollah, which Australia and many other countries have listed as a terrorist organisation.
But he said Hezbollah had other methods of communications and “the Israeli effort has largely been thwarted”.
“We will not fall, and we will come out stronger. We are preparing to face even worse attacks.
“It is the nature of war. One day the enemy will hit us and the next we will hit the enemy.
“Reckoning will come,” he added, suggesting retaliation. But, as in other broadcasts by Nasrallah, there was no clarification of how that retaliation might occur and he didn’t commit to striking beyond Israel’s border areas.
Nasrallah scoffed at Israel’s aim of securing that border so people could return home.
“You won’t be able to return these people to the north. The only way you can do this is by stopping the aggression on Gaza and the West Bank. This is the only way.”
‘Heavy risks’
On Thursday, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said its military action against Hezbollah would continue.
To be clear, Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah have been going on for months.
“As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price,” he said in a statement.
“In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities but also heavy risks.
“Hezbollah feels persecuted. The sequence of our military actions will continue.”
US Secretary of State, Mr Blinken has said that the focus should be on a Gaza ceasefire, and a cranking up of tension in Lebanon would not achieve that.
“We continue to work to get a ceasefire for Gaza over the finish line,” he said.
“But meanwhile, we don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party that make that even more difficult.”
The US is concerned that it may be forced to play a role in any Israel-Hezbollah conflict that could drag in Iran.
Israel has also received pushback from several western nations, including France and Spain, about the pager and walkie-talkie attacks.
Meanwhile the people of Lebanon are on tenterhooks once again, fearful a war is imminent.
– with AFP.
Originally published as ‘Declaration of war’: Israel, Hezbollah on brink
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