Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday warned Lebanon's Hezbollah over its chief Hassan Nasrallah's ‘regional war’ remark, saying that if the Iran-backed group attacked Israel, it would face “severe consequences”. Netanyahu has been warning Hezbollah to back off ever since it started exchanging fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war on October 7.
On Friday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech said that war between Israel and Hamas could turn into a regional conflict if attacks on Gaza continue, placing responsibility firmly on the United States.
According to him, while the October 7 attack was a purely Palestinian affair, Hezbollah's involvement in conflicts along Israel's northern border has increased over time - indicating the spread of the Gaza conflict to the North.
“America is entirely responsible for the ongoing war on Gaza and its people, and Israel is simply a tool of execution…Whoever wants to prevent a regional war - and this is addressed to the Americans - must quickly stop the aggression on Gaza,” he said in his first-ever televised speech since the war broke out.
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US' warning to Hezbollah
The US has expressed its commitment to preventing the Gaza conflict from escalating into a larger regional conflict. The White House on Friday said Hezbollah “should not try to take advantage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas”. It further warned that the US “does not want to see the conflict expand into Lebanon.”
The Israel-Hamas war
{{/usCountry}}The US has expressed its commitment to preventing the Gaza conflict from escalating into a larger regional conflict. The White House on Friday said Hezbollah “should not try to take advantage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas”. It further warned that the US “does not want to see the conflict expand into Lebanon.”
The Israel-Hamas war
{{/usCountry}}Israel has been launching massive retaliatory assaults against Gaza's Hamas rulers after its fighters carried out an attack on October 7 in which at least 1,400 people were killed. According to the health ministry in Gaza on Friday, at least 9,227 Palestinians including 3,826 children have been killed in the Israeli strikes so far.
(With inputs from agencies)