Herzog, Netanyahu tour north as UN warns of ‘apocalyptic’ war with Hezbollah
Premier vows ‘victory,’ president decries global apathy toward displaced Israelis; Iran said loath to send Iraqi militias to Lebanon; Katz slams Erdogan’s ‘support for Hezbollah’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog toured northern Israel on Wednesday, as months of skirmishes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah were feared to be on the verge of escalating to an all-out war the United Nations said would be “apocalyptic.”
Netanyahu, touring the Lebanese border on Wednesday, observed a drill of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, whose soldiers he hailed for their “determination to defend the country,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Flanked by his military secretary, Roman Gofman, the head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and other lower-ranking commanders, Netanyahu asserted that Israel would achieve “victory” in the north in case of a full-blown war with Hezbollah.
The visits came as the IDF published footage of airstrikes it carried out on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon’s Kfarchouba, Ayta ash-Shab and Khiam. The army said it also shelled several more areas in south Lebanon with artillery. Earlier in the day, the army published footage of overnight airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon’s Shebaa and Matmoura.
Meanwhile, Israeli local authorities said several anti-tank guided missiles fired by Hezbollah on Wednesday caused some damage.
In the afternoon, at least five missiles struck Metula, causing damage and sparking a fire. Later in the day, a missile was fired at Avivim, striking a home. The same home was hit by another missile several hours later.
Hezbollah took responsibility for a separate attack against the northern community of Even Menachem. It also reported launching attacks against military positions in northern Israel. There were no reports of injuries in the attack.
Forces aligned with Hezbollah have carried out near-daily attacks on northern communities and military posts since October 8, a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take over 250 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Hezbollah says it is attacking Israel in support of the Palestinians.
מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי ועמדת תצפית, לצד תשתית טרור נוספת של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים שובא, עייתא א-שעב ואל-חיאם שבדרום לבנון.
בנוסף, צה"ל תקף בירי ארטילרי במרחבים שבעא, כפר שובא, כפר חמאם ואל מטמורה שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/t5oJyqMG0X
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 26, 2024
Early in the war, Israel evacuated communities along the border with Lebanon, fearing Hezbollah would carry out an onslaught similar to Hamas’s. Over eight months later, some 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain displaced.
Fears of an all-out war have increased as displaced residents demand decisive action to remove Hezbollah from the border, as the Iran-backed terror group has escalated attacks, and as Israel has carried out a series of high-profile assassinations against it.
UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday that he saw Lebanon as “the flashpoint beyond all flashpoints,” pointing to southern Lebanon in particular.
Griffiths, whose term ends this week, said he had been discussing with colleagues in Jerusalem the prospects of what might happen there.
“We are worried about the potential for further tragedy and deaths,” he said, adding that war in Lebanon could also draw in Syria and would be “potentially apocalyptic.”
Amid international concern, the foreign ministries of Germany and the Netherlands on Wednesday both called on their countries’ citizens to leave Lebanon, saying flights out of Beirut may soon no longer be available. The warnings, which came after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the region, followed a similar advisory issued by Canada’s foreign ministry on Tuesday.
Diplomatic efforts by the United States and, to a lesser extent, France, have so far failed to make Hezbollah retreat beyond the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the border with Israel, in accord with UN Resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Herzog, who on Wednesday concluded a two-day stay in northern Israel with his wife Michal, accused the world of not doing enough to de-escalate tensions there.
“The international community should not be surprised if the situation gets out of control, because the international community is barely lifting a finger, barely doing anything to contribute to the full security of Israeli residents, after repeated violations of international treaties and agreements from Lebanon and from Hezbollah,” Herzog said, according to a statement from his office.
The statement said the president and his wife stayed in Safed and toured several communities and army bases in the region over their two-day trip.
Despite the bleak image conjured by the president, US officials have reportedly assured their Israeli counterparts that Washington would give its “full support” to Israel in case of a war with Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, the White House was also said to have told Hezbollah that the terror group should not count on Washington to keep Israel from going to war.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has been in Washington since Sunday, conferred on Wednesday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, telling him that Israel was fighting only “those who seek to harm us,” both in Lebanon and Gaza.
“Let it be known that our war is not with the people of Gaza. Our war is not with the people of Lebanon,” Gallant told Sullivan, according to a transcript from the defense minister’s office. “Our war is against Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer — the Iranian regime.”
Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported on Wednesday, citing four unnamed sources, that Iran has expressed reservations about plans by Iraqi militias, backed by the Islamic Republic, to fight alongside Hezbollah against Israel.
According to the sources, Iran was interested in proposals to supply Hezbollah, which included redeploying Iraqi militias in Syria and transferring weapons by a single truck, instead of a convoy, so as to not attract Israeli strikes. However, it was reportedly less enthusiastic about the Iraqi militias’ plan to travel to Lebanon, and Hezbollah was said to have rejected their offer of assistance.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Israel Katz once again lashed out at Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday after the Turkish president accused Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.
“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” he told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party, adding that “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster.”
Katz, writing on X, accused Erdogan of “support for Hezbollah,” in the foreign minister’s latest social media jab at the Turkish strongman, who has harshly criticized Israel’s offensive in Gaza and hosted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul.
“Erdogan is a war criminal who slaughters innocent Kurds across the Syrian border and tries to deny Israel its right to self-defense against a terror organization attacking from Lebanon under Iran’s orders,” wrote Katz. “Be quiet and shame on you!”
Skirmishes with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon have so far resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 349 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 64 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
