Hezbollah assures it won’t join fight unless ‘harassed’ by Israel, says Lebanese foreign minister

Hezbollah reportedly assured the Lebanese government that the terror organization would not join Hamas in its fight against Israel unless the Jewish state “harassed” Lebanon, according to Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib on Monday.

The Gaza-based organization Hamas surprised Israel with a large-scale terror attack on Saturday morning, shooting thousands of rockets and breaching the border at dozens of points by land, air and sea.

Bands of Hamas terrorists then roamed the Israeli towns along the border with the Gaza Strip, killing at least 700, wounding over 2,400 and kidnapping more than 100 Israelis.

Israel has concentrated a large number of soldiers along its northern border with Lebanon in an effort to deter the Shiite terror group, Hezbollah, from joining the fight.

Israel could face existential danger if the war with Gaza should expand to include the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group, as well as other Iranian-supported militias from Iraq and Syria, and Palestinian terrorists from Judea and Samaria, explained former Israel National Security Advisor Giora Eiland during an interview on Sunday.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the IDF Home Front Command to prepare plans for a broad evacuation of towns and villages in northern Israel in the event of clashes with Hezbollah.

On Monday, a video circulating on social media showed a group of men waving Palestinian flags and throwing stones over the border fence with Israel.

The day before, mortar shots were fired from Lebanon at Israeli military positions on Mt. Dov. In response, the IDF attacked the firing zone in Lebanon with artillery.

The Iranian-backed terror group claimed to have fired dozens of rockets and shells at the IDF position in an attack out of solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.” It also claimed the Israeli positions were directly hit.

The IDF released a statement saying: “IDF Artillery is currently striking the area in Lebanon from where a shooting was carried out. The IDF has been taking preparational measures for this type of possibility and will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians.”