Israel’s national security adviser warned over the weekend that the country can “no longer accept” Hezbollah’s presence along its northern border in southern Lebanon.
Tzachi Hanegbi indicated that once Israel wipes out Hamas, an Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group inside Gaza, it may turn its attention to Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran.
His remarks come after tens of thousands of Israelis in dozens of towns in northern Israel were forced to evacuate their homes following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack, which triggered attacks from Hezbollah.
He said in an interview with Channel 12 News that the residents who were forced to evacuate their homes in northern Israel will “not return if we don’t do the same thing” to Hezbollah that the country is doing to Hamas.
“We can no longer accept [Hezbollah’s elite] Radwan force sitting on the border. We can no longer accept Resolution 1701 not being implemented.”
The Times of Israel noted that Resolution 1701 is a U.N. Security Council resolution from 2006 from the end of the Second Lebanon War that bans Hezbollah from being within nearly 20 miles of Israel’s border.
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“The situation in the north must be changed. And it will change. If Hezbollah agrees to change things via diplomacy, very good, if not — we will have to act,” he said. “We will have to ensure that the situation in the north is different.”
He said that the fear Israel has with Hezbollah is that it has thousands of fighters within just a few minutes of Israel’s northern border who could invade and go on a murderous rampage similar to what Hamas did on October 7 when it murdered 1,200 Israelis.
Israel’s leaders have been clear about what will happen to Lebanon if Hezbollah tries to launch an attack while Israel cleans out the terrorists inside Gaza.
“If Hezbollah chooses to start an all-out war, then it will single-handedly turn Beirut and South Lebanon, not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Yunis,” Netanyahu said.