The Israeli prime minister posted a video message to the Lebanese people on Monday, saying Israel's war is not with the Lebanese people, but with Iran-backed Hezbollah, and urging them to avoid conflict areas until the war is over.
This will be the first time that Prime Minister Netanyahu has spoken directly to the Lebanese people.
The records are as follows:
I have a message for the people of Lebanon.
Israel's war is not with you.
It's with Hezbollah.
For too long, Hezbollah has used you as human shields. They have placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garages. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, at our citizens.
To protect our people from Hezbollah attacks, we must eliminate these weapons.
Since this morning, the Israel Defense Forces have been warning people to stay away from dangerous areas.
I urge you all to take this warning seriously. Do not put your life or your loved ones at risk to Hezbollah. Do not put Lebanon at risk to Hezbollah.
Please leave the area immediately.
Once your surgery is over, you will be able to safely return home.
Hours before Netanyahu's remarks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned civilians in southern Lebanon who had Hezbollah weapons in their homes to flee as far away as possible as Israel would target them.
Israel has not yet said it is entering into all-out war with Hezbollah or intends to destroy the terror group, but it will escalate its military operations to drive Hezbollah away from its borders so that residents of northern Israel, under threat from rocket attacks, can return to their homes and live in peace again.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
