[News] 'Powerful Action' - Israel Prepares for Major Confrontation with Hezbollah

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/powerful-action-israel-prepares-for-major-confrontation-with-hezbollah/>
'Powerful Action' - Israel Prepares for Major Confrontation with HezbollahJune
5, 2024
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Tensions run high between Israel and the Lebanese Resistance Movement
Hezbollah. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Palestine Chronicle Staff
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/palestine-chronicle-staff>*

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the
Israeli army is prepared for “an extremely powerful action” against the
Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah.

The statement was made during Netanyahu’s visit to the northern settlement
of Kiryat Shmona, which witnessed attacks by Hezbollah in recent days.

“We are prepared for an extremely powerful action in the north” against
Lebanon, Netanyahu wrote on his X account along with a video message taken
during his tour in the north near the borders with Lebanon.

Netanyahu also met with the Israeli army’s Brigade 769 command to discuss
the operational situation along the Lebanese-Israeli border areas.
*‘Major Battlefield’*

Meanwhile, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that the
Israeli army is awaiting government approval to escalate the confrontation
with Hezbollah into a “major battlefield”, also including a ground
operation, while relegating the Gaza Strip to a “secondary battleground.”

The Israeli Army Radio announced that the government authorized the call-up
of an additional 50,000 reserve soldiers in preparation for potential
escalation on the Lebanese front.

Additionally, Israeli Channel 14 indicated that the prevailing belief in
Israel is that a war with Hezbollah could erupt in the coming weeks.
*Northern Israel Ablaze*

Israeli firefighting teams continued
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/northern-israel-ablaze-rockets-fired-from-lebanon-spark-massive-fires/>
on Tuesday to battle massive fires, sparked by rockets fired from southern
Lebanon.

The fires engulfed several settlements and military sites in Upper Galilee
and occupied Golan Heights, forcing evacuation.

The Israeli army reported that its forces were able to control the hotspots
of fire, but the situation remained precarious, with fires still burning in
the vicinity of several settlements, including Kiryat Shmona, where flames
had reached some neighborhoods.

The spread of fires required the intervention of a large number of fire
brigades and army and police forces, with many residents evacuated from
Kiryat Shmona and other settlements. The Israeli army confirmed that six
reserve soldiers were injured due to smoke inhalation.

According to Al-Jazeera, the Sefad Hospital, however, confirmed it received
at least 16 people injured in the Kiryat Shmona fires, including seven
soldiers.
*Hezbollah’s Response*

Naim Qassem, Deputy Secretary-General of the group, told Al-Jazeera on
Tuesday that if Israel wants an all-out war, the Lebanese Resistance
movement Hezbollah is ready for it.

“Our decision is not to expand the war, but we will fight it if it is
imposed on us,” Qassem said.

“Any Israeli expansion of the war on Lebanon will be met with devastation,
destruction, and displacement in Israel,” the top Hezbollah official vowed.

Qassem denied reports of the elite ‘Radwan Forces’ withdrawing from the
border with Israel, stressing that Hezbollah has used “a small portion of
its capabilities, in proportion to the nature of the battle.”

On Wednesday, Hezbollah announced it attacked a group of Israeli soldiers
near the Birkat Risha site and bombarded soldiers at the Al-Malikiyah site
with artillery.

Hezbollah also used drones to attack the Maale Golani barracks and targeted
soldiers in the Natawa Horsh, Baram Horsh, and the vicinity of the Tahihat
Triangle.

Israeli Army Radio reported that sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona and
Metulla, fearing enemy aircraft infiltration.

*(PC, AJA)*
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