DM warns Hezbollah Israel can ‘copy and paste’ its war on Gaza in Lebanon

An aerial view of damaged residential building as residents and civil defense teams carry out a search and rescue operation around the rubble of the building demolished after Israeli attack in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on January 05, 2024 [Mohammed Fayq – Anadolu Agency]

Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, threatened Hezbollah during an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the war against Gaza could be repeated in Lebanon.

“They see what is happening in Gaza, they know we can copy and paste to Beirut,” said Gallant.

“My basic view: We are fighting an axis, not a single enemy. Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it,” he added.

Border tensions have risen between Israel and Lebanon since the start of an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 22,600 people since 7 October.

The Hezbollah Chief, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday, said that the Lebanese group carried out 670 operations against Israel over the past three months.

“What is happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border is unprecedented since 1948,” Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. “The enemy [Israel] does not acknowledge either fatalities or injuries, and this is part of its policy of general secrecy regarding its losses since 8 October,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gallant claimed residents of northern Israel were evacuated from their homes amid rising tensions on the Lebanese border.

“Eighty-thousand people need to be able to go back to their homes safely, so we are willing to sacrifice.”

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