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Israel issues message to Lebanese citizens amid reports of potential preemptive strike on Hezbollah

Fox News Digital - Thursday, August 8, 2024 by Peter Aitken and |

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a warning to the people of Lebanon as both Israel and Hezbollah consider first-strike options amid simmering tensions in the Middle East.

Gallant stressed that Israel seeks “peace, prosperity and stability on both sides of the northern border” in contrast to Hezbollah, who have “taken Lebanon and its people hostage for the sake of narrow sectarian interests.”

“We will not allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region,” Gallant said. “If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it, with all its might: Remember Nasrallah’s regret following the dangerous and miscalculated adventure he embarked on, in August 2006 – learn the lesson of the past so as not to fall into a dangerous scenario in August 2024.”

Gallant then recited the Arabic proverb “He who plays with fire may expect destruction.”

Hamas and Hezbollah lost top terrorists within the same week, with Iran and its proxies each blaming Israel for the assassinations. Hezbollah remains keen to avenge the death of its “No. 2,” Fuad Shukr, and may only have greater intent following the death this week of another commander, Hassan Fares Jeshi.

Israeli media reported on Thursday that Hezbollah plans to attack Israel even if Iran backtracks on plans to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, for which Iranian officials have blamed Israel.

Part of Hezbollah’s advantage lays in the lack of necessary preparation to launch such an attack, as displayed on Thursday as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that 25 projectiles had been launched from Hezbollah (but resulted in no injuries).

Gallant said Thursday that the IDF performs “regular situation assessments of things” and that the forces remain at “high readiness in all parameters” for any response.

“There is here a psychological attempt by the enemy to sow fear, tell stories and terrorize,” Gallant said, stressing the need for “resilience and strength” from the public. “Faced with this, we need to deal with the right main things: To give an answer to the public and, above all, to get the public to listen to the instructions of the Home Front Command; this is the authority, and this is how we should address the public.”

“We are working to reach a situation where we will be able to give the public sufficient warning when required, and until then, allow them to continue a normal lifestyle as much as possible,” Gallant said.

“The likelihood of Israeli preemption increases if they think Hezbollah’s attack will be severe, especially if it’s part of a multi-front offensive,” Jonathan Ruhe, Director of Foreign Policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Fox News Digital.

Originally published by Fox News Digital.