Israel’s Netanyahu threatens to devastate Beirut if Hezbollah enters war
- Iran-backed Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has fired on Israel from Lebanon
- US President Joe Biden speaks to Netanyahu and King Abdullah of Jordan
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened devastation in Beirut and southern Lebanon if Hezbollah opens a second front in Israel’s war with Hamas.
“If Hezbollah decides to open an all-out war, then with its own hands it will turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, which are not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Yunis,” Netanyahu said.
US President Joe Biden, who has made a priority of containing the Israel-Hamas conflict, spoke to both Netanyahu and King Abdullah II of Jordan regarding “the latest developments in Gaza”, the White House said on Thursday.
Netanyahu delivered the warning during a visit to the headquarters of the Israel Defence Forces’ northern command, which oversees units that have traded fire with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon in the weeks since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
He praised military reservists’ “great spirit in their readiness for battle”.