Israel warns Hezbollah of destruction in ‘total war’

Israel warned Hezbollah on Tuesday that it would be destroyed in the event of “all-out war” after a US envoy called for de-escalation amid escalating tensions on the Lebanese border.

These comments by Foreign Minister Israel Katz came after Hezbollah released a more than nine-minute video allegedly showing drone footage of the movement over northern Israel, including parts of the city and port of Haifa.

Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, have been shelling each other almost daily since the start of the Israeli war against Gaza.

“We are close to the moment when we will decide to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Katz said in a statement from his office.

“In an all-out war, Hezbollah would be destroyed and Lebanon would be hit hard.”

During a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday, US envoy Amos Hochstein called for an “urgent” de-escalation of the cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

“The conflict … between Israel and Hezbollah has lasted long enough,” the President’s special envoy said during a visit to Beirut.

“It is in everyone’s interest to resolve the issue quickly and diplomatically – it is feasible and urgent.”

Hezbollah stepped up its attacks on northern Israel last week after one of its senior commanders was killed in an Israeli strike.

The Hezbollah video that AFP The Lebanese movement could not immediately verify this independently, but identified Israeli military, defense and energy facilities, as well as civilian and military infrastructure.

A day after Hochstein held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, he met with Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally.

“Speaker Berri and I had a very good discussion,” said Hochstein.

“We discussed the current security and political situation in Lebanon, as well as the agreement currently on the table regarding Gaza, which also offers an opportunity to end the conflict beyond the Blue Line,” he added, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.