Hezbollah Demands Israel Must End War in Gaza if It Wants to Avoid War in Lebanon

JERUSALEM, Israel – The barrage of drones, anti-tank missiles, and rockets fired by Iranian-backed Hezbollah has forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes on the northern border and led Israel to respond with counterattacks.

Now, Hezbollah's deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has implied that neither it nor Israel wants a full-scale war and claims there is a path to peace on the Israel-Lebanon border to end the terror group's daily attacks from Lebanon on Israel's northern communities.

Qassem insists Hezbollah is attacking Israel as a way to support fellow Iranian proxy Hamas in the war in Gaza. “Threatening us with war does not change our position. From the beginning, we have said that we support Gaza,” he told The Associated Press at the group’s political office in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Experts say a full-scale war would devastate Lebanon and cause major destruction inside Israel. Still, without a diplomatic solution or military campaign to drive Hezbollah back, it's unlikely Israeli citizens can return home.

Sheikh Insists Halt to Fighting in Gaza Would End Hezbollah Attacks

So the sheikh says if Israel wants the daily attacks from Hezbollah to stop, it needs to cease fighting Hamas in Gaza.

Or as he said of the Gaza war, “If the next phase is a cease-fire, we will stop firing in Lebanon." 

But Kassam adds if Israel insists on war with his terror group, it could well spin out of control.  It might even drag in other nations, like Hezbollah's sponsor Iran.

'No One Knows the Repercussions'

The sheikh explained, “No one knows the repercussions of igniting the war locally, regionally, or even internationally."

Israeli officials are trying to head off a war with Hezbollah.  But if war does come, they warn Israel will repeat in Lebanon the kind of massive destruction it's already brought to Gaza. 

Iran Represents an Even Greater Danger to Israel

On Tuesday, the commander of Iran's Aerospace Force declared his soldiers are eager to launch another aerial assault on Israel.

The first happened on April 13th when Iran launched close to 350 projectiles against the Jewish state. Israel and an allied force, including the U.S., France, the UK, and Jordan, shot down nearly 99 percent of those weapons.