‘Severe blow': Katz threatens Hezbollah with territorial losses if it joins an Iranian attack

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that Hezbollah would lose additional territory in Southern Lebanon if it were to join Iran in an attack on Israel.

“Hezbollah will suffer a severe blow and lose additional territory in Southern Lebanon, in the areas of Nabatieh and the Litani River, which will become part of Israel’s permanent security zone,” Katz said during a visit to Lebanon. He added that the Israel Defense Forces was prepared for the operation.

“The entire Shi’ite population up to the Awali and Zahrani rivers will be evacuated northward,” Katz said, threatening extensive strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure. “The Dahiyeh district in Beirut will also be evacuated, and its terrorist infrastructure will be struck. More than 1 million Shi’ites will become displaced in Lebanon.”

Reiterating that Israel would not withdraw from its existing security zones, Katz warned that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem could face the same fate as his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. “Nasrallah destroyed the Shi’ite community in Lebanon until he was eliminated, and Naim Qassem could destroy it completely, until he too is eliminated,” he said.

Meanwhile, IDF soldiers discovered a Hezbollah position, a ready-to-detonate explosive device and other weapons on the outskirts of Kfarchouba in Southern Lebanon, the military said on Wednesday.

The weapons were found near the border village during an operation carried out by the IDF’s 810th Brigade over the past week.

The IDF “will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm Israeli civilians or IDF soldiers,” the statement continued.

It added that it will keep working to remove threats while “remaining committed to the ceasefire agreement.”

The IDF told JNS on Tuesday that the suspicious aerial object that set off air-raid sirens in the northern Bedouin community of Arab al-Aramshe on Saturday night was most likely a balloon.

“Following an in-depth inquiry conducted by the IDF, the preliminary assessment is that the object was most likely a balloon-like object or a device that floats using hot air,” the military stated.

“At this stage, it is not possible to determine its origin or purpose with certainty,” the statement continued. “It can be established that the object was not a drone or UAV, and it may have been a harmless object that drifted into Israeli territory.”

The IDF statement also addressed “the recent increase in reports of false detections and interceptions.”

“Throughout the war, the Air Force has been engaged in detecting and intercepting threats across multiple fronts, with the safety of civilians and forces deployed deep in the field as its foremost priority,” the military said.

“The distinction between a drone and a bird can be very small. Therefore, no risks are taken, and once a threat is identified, a rapid process is initiated to intercept the target.”

The IDF said it “continues to conduct searches throughout the area, both in the air and on the ground, while continuously examining its detection systems to improve identification capabilities and draw lessons from operational incidents of this kind.”