[News] Israel plans 'unprecedented strikes' in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq as part of US–Iran war

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Israel plans 'unprecedented strikes' in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq as part of
US–Iran war: Report

Axis of Resistance members have vowed to fight Israel if it attacks Iran

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

FEB 20, 2026 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-plans-unprecedented-strikes-in-lebanon-yemen-iraq-as-part-of-us-iran-war-report
(Photo credit: Hossein Beris/Middle East Images—AFP/Getty Images)

The Israeli army is preparing to carry out “massive and unprecedented”
strikes against Iran-backed resistance movements in the region should they
support the Islamic Republic in any war against Israel, *Al-Sharq al-Awsat*
reported
<https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5242822-israel-keen-attack-iran%E2%80%99s-regional-proxies-they-can-join-war>
on 20 February.

Citing Israeli military sources, the Saudi-owned paper said Israel was
preparing for possible strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansarallah in
Yemen, and resistance factions in Iraq.

Israel is currently pressuring US President Donald Trump to initiate a new
war against Iran. In January, Trump ordered an “armada” of US naval forces
to West Asia in preparation for a possible attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday his military is
making its own preparations for possible missile strikes on Iran, alongside
any US action.

“We are prepared for any scenario,” he said, adding that if Iran attacks
Israel, “they will experience a response they cannot even imagine.”

A military source said Ansarallah poses a “direct threat not just to
Israel, but to the whole world,” accusing the Yemeni movement of impeding
international trade in the Red Sea.

The Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted Israeli-linked ships
in the Red Sea starting in 2023 in response to Israel's genocide of
Palestinians in Gaza.

Ansarallah also fired ballistic missiles and drones toward targets in
Israel, largely shutting the Eilat port.

The source said Ansarallah, which governs most of the populated areas of
Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, is producing weapons and possesses
advanced technology. He compared them to a “dangerous ticking time bomb
that must be swiftly neutralized.”

According <https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjapkc7dbg> to Israeli media,
Tel Aviv has delivered very clear warnings to the Lebanese resistance
movement, Hezbollah, that if it chooses to intervene in a war between Iran
and Israel, the blow will be “extremely painful.”

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem stated
<https://thearabweekly.com/hezbollah-threatens-act-if-iran-attacked-or-khamenei-targeted>
on Monday that any attack on Iran would also be an attack on the movement.
Speaking in a televised address to supporters, Qassem said Hezbollah and
Iran were facing an “aggression that does not distinguish between us.”

“A war on Iran this time will ignite the region,” he warned.

“We will choose at that time how to act … but we are not neutral,” he added.

Mohammed Bukhaiti of Yemen's Ansarallah stated
<https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/523700/Yemen-s-Ansarullah-warns-US-against-any-raid-on-Iran>
his movement would also join a war to defend Iran.

“We are men of action, not words,” he said.

In a strongly worded statement issued recently, the movement called on
those willing to confront the “front of disbelief and hypocrisy” to prepare
for a “comprehensive war” in support of Iran.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi resistance movement, warned
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/26/iraqs-kataib-hezbollah-warns-of-total-war-if-iran-is-attacked>
of a “total war” if Iran is attacked by the US and Israel.

The movement's chief, Abu Hussein al‑Hamidawi, issued a statement late on
Sunday, calling on fighters to be prepared for war.

He said the “forces of darkness” are gathering to subjugate and destroy
Iran, describing the country as the “fortress and pride” of Muslims.

“You will taste the bitterest forms of death, and nothing will remain of
you in our region,” Hamidawi warned Israel.
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