Israel is preparing for war with Hezbollah – DW – 06/27/2024

A commercial ship traveling through the Red Sea issued a radio call off the coast of a rebel-held port city that it was under attack, according to a private security company.

British security company Ambrey said a warship in the area was responding to the attack.

The Houthi rebel group, an Iranian-backed Shiite militia in Yemen, did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.

In recent months, the insurgents have targeted more than 60 ships in a series of missile and drone attacks, killing four sailors.

The Houthis launched the campaign after October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel sparked war in Gaza, saying they were attacking ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK in support of the Palestinians.

Two people were killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Syria overnight, Syrian state media said.

The Syrian news agency SANA reported, “At approximately 11:40 p.m., the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of sites in the southern region, which led to the death of two people and the wounding of a soldier.”

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raid targeted a facility run by a foundation affiliated with Iranian-backed groups including Hezbollah.

Israel intensified its strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria following the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7. Israeli authorities rarely comment on such strikes.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that his country does not want war with Lebanon, but is prepared to inflict serious damage if diplomatic efforts fail.

“We do not want war, but we are preparing for all scenarios,” Gallant told reporters in the United States during a visit to Washington.

He added, “Hezbollah is well aware that we are capable of causing serious damage to Lebanon if war breaks out.”

Gallant added that the Israeli army is capable of taking Lebanon “back to the stone age” in a potential war against the Iran-backed group.

Gallant was speaking during a trip to Washington. The Biden administration has repeatedly warned against escalating the conflict to the broader region.

Tens of thousands of people in northern Israel and southern Lebanon were forced to flee their homes as Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli army exchanged fire.

On Tuesday, Gallant met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is working to secure a diplomatic agreement between the two sides.

The German Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to leave Lebanon due to the tense situation on the border with Israel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its report that further escalation could lead to the cessation of air traffic in Beirut Latest travel tips.

“Then it will not be possible to leave Lebanon by air,” she added.

The Foreign Office said there was a real risk of further escalation from the regular exchanges of fire that have been taking place across the border since October 7.

The statement read: “After the Palestinian Hamas movement launched a major attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah and other armed groups also fired mortar shells, anti-tank weapons, and missiles at Israel from Lebanese territory since October 8, 2023.”

The German authorities warned of the possibility of escalation of the conflict, after increasing warnings from the Israeli government.

“This applies in particular to the southern parts of Lebanon up to the southern urban areas of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, including the Baalbek-Hermel region,” the ministry said.

zk/ap (Reuters, AFP, AP, DPA)