Hezbollah 'Ready' to Fight Israel in Lebanon Amid New War Threats

Eighteen years after the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah, a spokesperson for the Lebanese movement has told Newsweek the group was prepared to thwart any new Israeli offensive amid repeated threats from senior Israeli officials over worsening cross-border clashes tied to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

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The latest Israeli warning had come from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Northern Command chief Major General Ori Gordin, who said during an Israel-Lebanon War anniversary ceremony on Wednesday that his forces "are prepared and ready" to fight Hezbollah on its own territory, "and when given the command, the enemy will meet a strong and prepared army."Just two days earlier, IDF Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi asserted that "we are approaching the point where a decision will have to be made" for larger-scale military action to address near-daily Hezbollah operations waged since a surprise attack led by the Palestinian Hamas movement almost exactly eight months ago sparked what has become the longest and deadliest-ever war in Gaza.

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In response, however, a Hezbollah spokesperson cast doubt on the IDF's ability to conduct such a campaign successfully.Since October 7, the Israelis have been threatening, but whoever has a loud voice cannot do anything," the Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek. "They have not emerged from their quagmire in Gaza after eight months with any achievement other than killing innocent civilians and children."

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"Hezbollah is always ready for anything," the spokesperson said, "and will defend its citizens and its land without any hesitation."The comments came a day after officials from Iran, Hezbollah's key supporter, weighed in on the prospect of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering a Lebanon offensive while still at war with Hamas in Gaza.

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