While Israel said it does not want war in Lebanon, it has also warned that it could send Lebanon „back to the Stone Age”.
Specifically, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in Washington on June 26 that his country could „take Lebanon back to the Stone Age, but we don’t want to do it”.
„We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” he told reporters.
„Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched.”
This is the latest in a series of frightening affirmations on both sides:
“We can plunge Lebanon completely into the dark and take apart Hezbollah’s power in days,” Benny Gantz, a former Israeli war cabinet member, said on Tuesday during a conference in Herzliya.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, warned Israel of the consequences of escalation, declaring in a televised address from Beirut earlier this month that “no place in [Israel] is safe from our rockets”.
The border between Israel and Lebanon has seen exchanges of fire every day since October 7th, the day that Hamas attacked Israel.
Israel has killed at least 481 people in Lebanon since the Hamas attacks of Oct 7, including 94 civilians, reported AFP. On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have died, according to Israel.
A US official said Washington was engaged in „fairly intensive conversations” with Israel, Lebanon and other actors, and believed that no side sought a „major escalation”.
The UN, however, warns of the apocalyptic consequences: a war in the entire Middle East.
Hezbollah has vowed to continue its volley of rockets, anti-tank missiles and explosive drones unless Israel ends the war in Gaza.
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