Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on June 20 warned Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem to stay out of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran.
Exactly a week earlier, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran with the aim of crippling its nuclear program and degrading its offensive capabilities. Since then, the Islamic Republic has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation.
“The Hezbollah leader hasn’t learned from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel,” said Katz, referring to former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel last September.
“I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful, and understand that Israel has lost patience with the terrorists who threaten it,” Katz added, warning: “If there is terror — there will be no Hezbollah.”
In a statement released a day earlier, Qassem said that Hezbollah was “not neutral” in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
“Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance are not neutral between Iran’s legitimate rights and independence, and the falsehood of America, its aggression, along with the cancerous tumor Israel and the arrogant powers,” Qassem said.
“We stand with Iran in facing this global injustice because we stand for our independence, the liberation of our land, and the freedom of our decisions and choices,” he continued.
The leader added that the group “will act as we see appropriate in confronting this brutal Israeli-American aggression.”
The remarks came after United States special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war, saying it would be a “very bad decision.”
Since the U.S. brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon last November, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has continued to launch strikes against Hezbollah members and infrastructure in the group’s heartland of southern Lebanon and other parts of the country.
On June 19, the IDF announced that it killed Yassin Izz a-Din, commander of Hezbollah’s rocket artillery unit in the Litani River sector, in a strike on the southern town of Barish the night before. Izz a-Din advanced numerous rocket attacks on northern Israel during the war, and was involved in “attempts to restore Hezbollah’s artillery forces,” according to the military.
On the same night, near the southern town of Nabatieh, the IDF said that it killed Mohammad Ahmad Khreiss, the alleged commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in the Shebaa area.
“During the war, the terrorist advanced numerous attacks against the State of Israel,” including an anti-tank missile attack on Mount Dov on April 26, 2024, which killed Sharif Sawaed, an IDF civilian contractor, the military said.
The IDF on June 19 killed a third Hezbollah member in a strike, saying he had been involved in efforts to restore the terror group’s infrastructure in the Houla area, also located in southern Lebanon.
On June 20, the commander of Hezbollah’s firepower unit in the Litani river area was targeted near the southern town of Shabriha, according to the IDF, which identified him as Mohammed Khader al-Husseini.
The military said that during the war, Husseini led numerous rocket attacks on Nahariya, Haifa and other northern towns. The commander was recently involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s rocket artillery capabilities, the IDF added, alleging that this was a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Katz’s warning and the latest strikes on southern Lebanon shows that Israel is determined to keep maximum pressure on Hezbollah. While the group has refrained from responding to Israel’s acts since November, it is still too early to consider it out of the picture.
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