Report: Israel threatens to launch war against Hezbollah if no deal to withdraw by March 15

A Lebanese newspaper linked to the Hezbollah terror group claims that Israel has set a March 15 deadline for a diplomatic deal pushing the Iran-backed terror group’s forces from southern Lebanon, after which it is prepared to escalate the ongoing border skirmishes into a war.

Yesterday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US special envoy to the region Amos Hochstein that Hezbollah’s continued attacks on Israel are bringing the country closer to a decision regarding military action in Lebanon.

Al-Akhbar quotes Western officials saying that Hochstein does not believe the fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border can be halted before a deal is reached for a truce in Gaza. The paper also claims Americans think a diplomatic settlement between Beirut and Jerusalem will have to include a solution to the border disputes, in particular the Mount Dov area, known in Lebanon as the Shebaa farms, and a deployment of the Lebanese army in the south.