Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group in southern Lebanon, moved closer to war on Monday, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday night.
Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on an Israeli base in northern Israel's Mount Meron over the weekend, and the attack escalated severely. In return, Israel attacked Hezbollah's command posts in southern Lebanon, killing key commanders. reportedly Wissam al-Tawil (or “Jawad”) of the “elite” Radwan force.
For weeks, Israel has warned Hezbollah, which is fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, against opening a second front. Hezbollah is under pressure to act as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) increasingly dismantles Hamas' military capabilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates government's warning against Hezbollah, Times of Israel report:
In the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Israeli Defense Force reservists that Israel wanted to restore security in the region without going to war with Hezbollah, but was prepared to do so.
“Hezbollah deeply misled us in 2006 and it still seriously misleads us now,” he told soldiers of the 769th Regional Brigade.
…
“Of course we would like this to happen without a huge campaign, but that won't stop us,” the Prime Minister says. “We gave them an example of what is happening to our friends in the South. This is what happens here in the North. We will do everything in our power to restore safety.”
USS fordis reportedly one of two aircraft carriers sent to the Eastern Mediterranean by US President Joe Biden to prevent Iran from opening a second front. left This may have opened the door to ongoing escalation in the region last week.
Blinken has called for regional support for an agreement on the escalating conflict in Gaza and a post-Hamas future.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He published his 2021 e-book “The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)' has been updated and a new preface has been added. He is also the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
