Hezbollah is the ‘crown jewel’ of Iran’s terror empire, Israel says,
Israeli officials warned that the country is on the “brink” of a full-scale war with Hezbollah if the terrorist group continues to increase its aggression in northern Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) made the warning on Sunday, just a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet with Amos Hochstein, a top aide to President Biden. Biden’s administration is pushing Israel to avoid a war in Lebanon, but IDF officials continue to highlight the outsized threat posed by Hezbollah compared to Hamas.
“Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation,” an IDF spokesman warned Sunday. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed the statement in his own talks with Hochstein on Monday.
“We are committed to the diplomatic process, however Hezbollah’s aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in the decision-making regarding our military activities in Lebanon,” he told the Biden representative. Hochstein later met with both Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Both Israeli figures thanked Hochstein for meeting with them but made no promises regarding a war in Lebanon.
Israel did not offer details about their conversations.