Sheikh Naim Qassem told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah does not intend to escalate its conflict with Israel, but “will not allow Israel to secure any victories”.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah does not intend to escalate its conflict with Israel, but is ready to fight any war imposed on it, its deputy leader said, as hostilities on the Lebanese-Israeli border continue to escalate.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy head of the Lebanese group, said Hezbollah is “ready for battle and will not allow Israel to secure any victories.”
“Any Israeli expansion of the war in Lebanon will find devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel,” he added.
“If Israel wants to wage an all-out war, we are ready for it.”
Iran-aligned Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire over the past eight months in parallel with Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza, raising concerns that an even wider conflict could erupt between the heavily armed adversaries.
The Lebanese front, Qassem said, is permanently linked to Gaza, echoing similar sentiments expressed by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who has repeatedly described the group’s support for Gaza as “final.”
Cross-border violence, which has fluctuated for months, has intensified in recent days. Hezbollah announced Tuesday that it launched a squadron of unilateral strike drones against an Israeli military barracks for the second day in a row, calling it a response to a deadly Israeli attack on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, sirens sounded in northern Israel.
‘It is not a sustainable reality’
Hostilities have been the worst between Israel and Hezbollah since they went to war in 2006, and tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have been forced to flee their homes.
Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet later on Tuesday – mainly to discuss the northern front, an Israeli official said.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Tuesday that fighting in the north was “not a sustainable reality.”
He said Israel is committed to ensuring the safety of tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from the area and ensuring they return home.
“It is up to Hezbollah to decide whether this can be achieved through diplomatic means or by force,” he said. “We are defending this country and no one should be surprised by our response.”
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden who is at the center of diplomatic efforts seeking de-escalation, said last week that a land border agreement between Israel and Lebanon implemented in phases could de-escalate the conflict.
Israel has gone to war several times in Lebanon.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch, a member of the ruling right-wing Likud Party who is not part of Israel’s war cabinet, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that Israel “must go to war to conduct the Hezbollah…beyond the Litani River”, which lies in the Mediterranean Sea, near the Lebanese city of Tyre, 19 km (12 miles) from the border.
Israeli attacks have killed around 300 Hezbollah members since October 7 and around 80 civilians. Lebanon’s attacks on Israel killed 18 Israeli soldiers and 10 civilians, the Israeli military says.
Rockets fired from Lebanon sparked forest fires in areas of northern Israel on Monday.
Hezbollah said on Monday it launched a squadron of drones against an Israeli target in response to Israel’s killing of a Hezbollah member. Although Hezbollah has used drones in the conflict, it was the first time it had declared the launch of a squadron of them.
The group said Tuesday’s drone launch was a response to what it described as an Israeli killing in the border town of Naqoura.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
