Israel minister warns Hezbollah of destruction in ‘total war’

UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) armoured vehicles patrol on the entrance of the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura near the border with Israel on June 17, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. The clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border began soon after Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister on Tuesday threatened to destroy Hezbollah in the event of a “total war”, after the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group stepped up cross-border attacks on northern Israel.

“We are very close to the moment when we will decide to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In a total war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard,” Israel Katz said, according to a statement from his office.

Israel and Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

READ: Hezbollah attacks Israel after deadly south Lebanon strike

US envoy Amos Hochstein held talks with Israeli leaders on Monday before traveling to Lebanon to press for de-escalation on the border, as an Israeli official said Hezbollah had fired thousands of projectiles at the start of the Gaza war.

Hezbollah escalated attacks last week after a commander, Taleb Abdallah, was killed in an Israeli strike in the village of Jouaiyya. The Israeli army described him as “one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders in southern Lebanon”.

READ: Hezbollah rains rockets on Israel after strike kills commander

The Iran-backed Lebanese movement said it launched rocket and missile barrages as well as “attack drones” against Israeli military positions in response.