Israel warns not to "play with fire", Hamas reveals Hezbollah's red lines

Hezbollah members conduct military exercises in Lebanon (Photo: Reuters).

The representative of Hamas in Beirut, Ahmed Abdul Hadi, said on November 13 that the Hezbollah force in Lebanon is not yet ready to participate in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and declared that Hezbollah will only increase its activities against Israel in case of a complete defeat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"Now is not the time (to go to war). The red line for Hezbollah is when the resistance (of Hamas) in Gaza is completely destroyed," Mr. Hadi said.

While the Israeli army has repeatedly clashed with Hezbollah fighters across the Lebanese border in recent weeks, the group's second-in-command, Naim Qassem, said the clashes were merely "aimed at reducing pressure on Gaza".

Other senior officials declined to reveal Hezbollah's "red lines" for the group to become more deeply involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying their response would depend on Israel's actions.

However, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last weekend that the group was stepping up its activities and there had been an "upgrade" in operations along the front with Israel.

“There has been an improvement in the number of operations, scale and targets as well as an increase in the type of weapons,” the Hezbollah leader said.

The Israeli military has warned that Hezbollah would be making a “grave mistake” if it stepped up attacks on Israeli forces. Israel claims to have killed nearly 80 Hezbollah fighters in recent clashes.

Meanwhile, on November 12, at least 10 civilians and seven Israeli soldiers were injured by mortar fire, rockets and anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, according to Israeli military and medical authorities.

The attack was the most serious incident involving civilians along the Lebanon-Israel border since an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on November 5 killed a woman and three children.

Lebanon is located in the north of Israel (Photo: BBC).

The Wall Street Journal quoted Israeli officials as saying on November 13 that the risk of a "full-scale conflict" between Israel and forces in Lebanon has increased in recent days, amid ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials have warned that if a full-scale conflict breaks out with Hezbollah in Lebanon, they will destroy the militant group's stronghold.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for using armed drones to attack Israeli military positions along Israel's northern border in recent days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 13 confirmed clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border, and warned that those who want to expand attacks against Israeli forces are "playing with fire".

"Fire will be met with much greater fire. They should not test us because we have only shown a part of our strength. We will inflict damage on those who harm us," Netanyahu declared.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shia Muslim militant group and a major political party operating in Lebanon.

The threat from Hezbollah is a concern for Israel because the group's military capabilities are superior to Hamas'. Hezbollah is estimated to possess 150,000-200,000 rockets, enough to attack a series of targets across the territory controlled by Israel for a long time.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/israel-canh-bao-dung-dua-voi-lua-hamas-he-lo-lan-ranh-do-cua-hezbollah-20231114180430042.htm