Israel nearing ‘all-out war’ – foreign minister

The IDF will respond “disproportionately” to an alleged Hezbollah rocket attack on civilians, Israel Katz has warned
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Hezbollah “crossed all lines” with a rocket attack that killed ten people, Israel Katz has said

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has vowed to launch a “disproportionate” response after Hezbollah allegedly killed ten people in a rocket attack on a football field in the Golan Heights. The incident has brought Israel to the brink of “all-out war” with the group, Katz has warned.

Most of the dead were children, and more than a dozen were injured by the strike in the town of Majdal Shams on Saturday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blamed the attack on “the Hezbollah terror group.”

“There is no doubt that Hezbollah crossed all red lines,” Katz told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “We are facing an all-out war” with the group, he continued, adding that Israel “will respond disproportionately.” 

Katz said that he would “not go into detail” on what such a response would look like, but claimed that Israel has the “full backing” of the US and Europe to escalate against Hezbollah.

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The powerful Iranian-backed political movement and paramilitary force entered the Israel-Hamas conflict last October. Its fighters have so far waged a limited campaign of tit-for-tat drone and missile strikes on northern Israel, which Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in November was aimed at tying up Israeli forces near the Lebanese border to prevent their deployment to Gaza.

Officials in Washington have cautioned both Hezbollah and Israel against igniting a full-scale war, which could potentially escalate into a major conflict involving the US and Iran.

Ever since the Israel-Hamas war began, Katz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have suggested on several occasions that a war with Hezbollah may be imminent. These statements typically follow larger-than-usual strikes by the group or incidents perceived as embarrassing to the Israeli military.

When Hezbollah flew a surveillance drone over the Israeli port of Haifa last month, Katz declared that “we are getting very close to the moment of deciding on changing the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon.”

“In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely beaten,” he added.

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Hezbollah has claimed that it had “no connection” to the attack on Majdal Shams. However, the group has claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a nearby military base, which it described as retaliation for the deaths of three of its fighters in an Israeli airstrike earlier on Saturday morning.