It is reported that senior American officials assured the delegation of senior Israeli officials who visited Washington this week that if a full-scale conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon on the northern border, the United States was fully prepared to support its allies, but stressed that it would not send ground troops to them.
On June 21 local time, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz issued a statement through social media saying that Israel would not allow "Hezbollah in Lebanon to continue to attack the territory and people of the country", and Israel would soon make "necessary decisions" about it.
As the Palestinian Israeli conflict continues and the tension on the Lebanese Israeli border intensifies, UN Secretary General Guterres warned on the 21st that it must be clear that the world cannot let Lebanon become the second Gaza.
▲ UN Secretary General Guterres
The US Israel "war of words" continues
Iran: Israel is the only loser
In recent weeks, there have been more and more cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon on the border between Lebanon and Israel, increasing people's concern about the possibility of a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
According to the previous report, the United States feared that without the support of the United States, Israel might not be able to end its full-scale war with Hizbullah in Lebanon. (Previously, it was reported that the Israeli army approved the war plan to launch an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Will the war begin in an all-round way? Expert: The Israeli army is limited.)
While the US side stated that it was fully prepared to support Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu continued to criticize the United States in public about the "US detaining arms to aid Israel".
▲ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Netanyahu said on June 20 that as long as Israel can get enough ammunition from the United States, he is willing to be attacked personally. According to the report, Netanyahu believed that it was "very necessary" for him to publicly release videos criticizing Biden's government.
Earlier, on June 18, Netanyahu sent a video publicly criticizing the US government for "withholding Israeli ammunition and weapons used against Hamas". Once the video was released, it was refuted by the US side. John Kirby, the strategic communication coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House, responded that he did not know what Netanyahu was saying. "Considering the extent of US assistance, we are disappointed."
▲ John Kirby, Strategic Communication Coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House
With regard to the Israeli side's "decision on Hizbullah soon", the Iranian side warned that once a full-scale conflict broke out between Israel and Hizbullah, it would become "the ultimate loser". According to the report, although Israel and Iran have often "exchanged harsh words" recently, this is Iran's strictest statement so far.
The Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations sent a message on the social platform, saying that any rash decision of Israel could lead the region into a new war. "There is no doubt that if one day, the ultimate loser will be Israel."
The Secretary General of the United Nations:
The world cannot let Lebanon become the second Gaza
At the press conference on June 21, UN Secretary General Guterres expressed concern about the increasingly tense relationship between Hezbollah and Israel and the fierce remarks of both sides.
"A reckless act and a miscarriage of justice may lead to a disaster." Guterres added that if this disaster happens, the consequences will be beyond imagination. "We must make it clear that the world cannot accept Lebanon as the second Gaza."
Guterres urged both sides to immediately resume the ceasefire in accordance with Security Council resolution 1701. The resolution was adopted in 2006 and led to a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah. "The world must send a loud and clear signal that the current situation needs to be immediately cooled, and that military solutions cannot solve the problem."
Guterres said that the United Nations will fully support relevant parties to ease the regional situation through diplomatic efforts to avoid more suffering for people in the region.
Extended Reading
Hizbullah released a 9-minute video of the Israeli air defense system to respond violently
According to China News Service on the 19th, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz said on the 18th that Israel was about to make a decision to carry out a "full-scale war" with Hezbollah in Lebanon. In addition, according to multinational media reports, the Israeli military issued a notice saying that the head of the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces, Ori Goldin, and the head of the Bureau of Operations, Ode Basiyuk, held a joint situation assessment on the Lebanon Israel issue. The Israeli military approved the operational plan for launching an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and decided to continue to improve the combat readiness of ground forces.
Wang Jin, director of the Israel Research Center of Northwest University, told Red Star News that the Israeli forces actually did not have enough troops to launch large-scale direct ground attacks in Lebanon in a short period of time. "Israel is more likely to launch a small-scale, large-scale and high intensity attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon."
Threat? Hizbullah releases 9-minute video
Israel responded violently: Hizbullah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely damaged
On the 18th local time, Hezbollah in Lebanon released a 9 minute video shot by a drone. The video shows the port and airport of Haifa, an important city in northern Israel. According to the media, the video also seems to include some facilities of the Israeli naval base, several warships, the Israeli military strategic base, the Israeli air defense system, etc. Reported that it is not clear when these videos were shot.
The picture shows the video screenshot of the drone released by Hezbollah in Lebanon
Some media pointed out that the video was very threatening, highlighting the growing difficulties Israel faced in dealing with the threat of Hizbullah's drones. The media quoted experts as saying that Hizbullah is using a variety of strategies, including low altitude flight and technical jamming, to "hide" its UAVs and avoid being found by Israel. This video released by Hizbullah shows that although Israel intercepted many of its drones, some of them still successfully completed their tasks.
The response of Israel to the videos released by Hizbullah was also fierce. Foreign Minister Katz said on the social platform that Israel was about to change the rules of the game against Lebanon and Hezbollah in Lebanon. "In a comprehensive war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard". At the same time, the Israeli military announced its approval of the plan for military operations in Lebanon and decided to speed up the combat readiness of ground forces.
Israeli Foreign Minister Katz said Hizbullah would be destroyed and Lebanon would be hit hard
Spiral escalation of Lebanon Israel issue
Can Israel really destroy Hizbullah?
In fact, since the outbreak of this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, the exchange of fire between Israel and Hizbullah on the border between Lebanon and Israel has occurred from time to time. "But the tension between Israel and Hizbullah has experienced a spiral escalation in the past period of time." Wang Jin explained that Israel has carried out a large-scale attack on Hizbullah a few days ago, which led to the death of several Hizbullah executives. Therefore, Hizbullah will carry out fierce retaliation against Israel, while Israel will carry out more intense retaliation against Hizbullah.
It is reported that Israel killed Ismail Baz, a senior commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon, in an attack in April. According to Red Star News, Israel attacked southern Lebanon on June 11, killing Hizbullah's senior commander Abdullah and three other armed personnel. On the 12th, Hizbullah's senior armed officials said at Abdullah's funeral that they would increase the number and frequency of attacks on Israel (previously reported that Israel would wage war on both sides? The conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon escalated, and border villages were attacked 188 times, and 800 people fled). Since then, northern Israel has been repeatedly attacked by rockets from Lebanon, while Israel has sent drones to attack southern Lebanon. Reference news: It was reported on the 17th that the Israeli military said on the 16th that Hezbollah in Lebanon would intensify cross-border attacks on Israel, which could lead to a serious escalation of the situation.
Wang Jin believes that the current strength of the Israeli army is not enough to launch a large-scale offensive in Lebanon. "Large scale direct combat is unlikely to occur, and it may still fight back locally." In Wang Jin's view, Israel's current "harsh words" also want to show a strong attitude, because it hopes that the United States and the international community can mediate, "This is consistent with Israel's consistent diplomatic and political behavior."
Some media quoted American officials as saying that the United States is very worried that if Israel really launches a full-scale war with Hizbullah in Lebanon, Israel may not end without the support of the United States. According to the previous report, Benjamin Alison, an expert from the University of Texas, pointed out that compared with Hamas, Hizbullah's "powerful arsenal" poses a greater threat to Israel. Until now, after nearly eight months, Israel has not yet completed the goal of "eliminating Hamas".
The picture shows Amos Hokstein, Special Envoy of the President of the United States (information picture)
Just as the situation between Lebanon and Israel was warming up, American President's Special Envoy Amos Hokstein went to Lebanon on the 18th to try to cool the situation. However, there are reports that Amos conveyed a pessimistic mood when he left Lebanon. Amos explained to Israeli officials that Hizbullah now insists that it will not separate the Palestinian Israeli conflict from the Lebanese Israeli conflict, which also means that as long as there is no ceasefire in southern Israel (Gaza), there will be no ceasefire in northern Israel (Lebanon Israel). In an interview with the media in Lebanon, Amos stressed that the current "urgent need" for the situation to cool down, "the cross-border exchange of fire (between Lebanon and Israel) has lasted long enough."
