Against the backdrop of the deep pain and mourning in the Golan Heights, in the Druze community, which yesterday buried 12 children, mutual accusations and threats between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continue.
The Israeli war council said it would “hit the enemy hard” for the rocket it fired. But the dispute is not limited to the Netanyahu government and the terrorist organization, which also operates as a political party with great influence in Lebanon, although it is financed and supported by Tehran. All regional forces intervened yesterday. Some called for restraint to avoid a regional conflict that could develop into a global conflict, and others initiated threats.
Moderation warnings and direct threats
Iran has warned that a large-scale retaliatory strike on Lebanon would have “consequences”.
Lebanon called for an “international investigation” and warned that any Israeli strike could trigger a regional outbreak.
Egypt, which is mediating with Qatar and the United States in Israel’s indirect negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, has sounded the alarm about the dangers of a new front in Lebanon.
Turkey has gone so far as to threaten to invade Israel. “When we entered Karabakh, as we entered Libya, we can do the same to them. There is nothing that cannot be done. We just have to be strong to be able to do what? We will take these measures,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Syria has denounced Israel’s “false accusations” against Hezbollah. “It could be a misfire or an Israeli air defense missile that was fired to intercept a target in the air,” said Riyad Kawaji, director of the Institute for Middle East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA). This is exactly what Hezbollah claims. The fatal blow came, he says, from an Israeli anti-aircraft missile, adding that the Druze community was never targeted.
White House support for Israel
“The rocket was Iranian and was launched by Hezbollah,” the White House stressed, expressing its full support for Israel. However, it stressed the need not to turn this new bloody episode into a regional conflict.
US and Middle Eastern diplomats worked hard Sunday to prevent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah from escalating into war, as a Druze community in the Golan Heights buried its children.
U.S. officials have reached out to their counterparts in Israel and Lebanon and exchanged messages with Iran in an effort to ease tensions, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab and European officials familiar with the matter. All sides have said they do not want to escalate the conflict, but the chances of a miscalculation remain high.
“We are approaching total war”
“We are approaching the moment of all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said shortly after Saturday’s attack. The attack “crossed all red lines and the response will be proportionate,” he explained.
If the Netanyahu government’s response is not to target Hezbollah’s facilities, but to strike Lebanon, the conflict will certainly not end there. Tehran has already hinted that it will get involved, as has Turkey. The US and other Western powers will not be able to stand idly by. The Arab world (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan) will also find it difficult to maintain the distance it has maintained since the horrific attack of October 7 and the beginning of the bloody war and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Even powers such as Russia or China could be drawn into such a conflict. A catastrophic domino effect will be in the works. That is why everyone is trying to prevent the first brick from falling.