Israel Defense Official Suggests Invasion of Lebanon Possible If Hezbollah Expands Attacks

People wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags during a rally in celebration of the attacks carried out by the Hamas terrorist group against Israel, in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, on Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Violence is escalating along the border of Israel and Lebanon, as the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group seeks to draw Israel’s resources away from Gaza.

Although Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged rocket fire intermittently since the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, casualties have mounted in recent days.

On the Lebanon side of the border, at least 70 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed. In Israel, seven service members and three civilians have been killed. Thousands of people on both sides of the border have fled their homes amid the continued shelling.

Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed over the weekend that the terror group’s attack on Israel’s northern border would “remain active.”

Israel is considering what would be required to justify a full-scale military conflict with Lebanon in response.

To that end, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters over the weekend that the world will know that Hezbollah crossed a red line when Israeli troops march on Lebanon’s capital of Beirut.

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“Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war,” Mr. Gallant said.

“If you hear that we have attacked Beirut, you will understand that Nasrallah has crossed that line.”

Hezbollah Could Drag Lebanon into War

Analysts have said that Hamas first launched its attack on Israel to ignite a regional conflict that would threaten Israel’s existence.

To date, however, the Lebanon-based Hezbollah has worked to pressure Israel to divert military resources to its northern border while also avoiding provoking a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon.

Lebanon has been without a president or prime minister since 2022 because of infighting between political groups that maintain the ability to veto nominations.

The current caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, is pro-Hezbollah and has praised the group’s “self-restraint” in its attacks on Israel.

Israel has considered Hezbollah to be the biggest threat along its borders since a 2006 war that killed 1,200 Lebanese people and more than 150 Israelis.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin characterized the violence as “tit-for-tat exchanges between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the north” and predicted that Israel would remain focused on the threat from Hezbollah “for the foreseeable future.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Hezbollah on Nov. 13 to not broaden its attacks.

“This is playing with fire,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a prepared statement.

“Fire will be answered with much stronger fire. They should not try us, because we have only shown a little of our strength.”

Reuters contributed to this report.