Beirut
CNN
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Israel warned Hezbollah on Tuesday of the possibility of an “all-out war” after the Lebanese militant group released a nine-minute video, allegedly taken by a drone. It featured Israeli military and civilian locations in several Israeli cities.
“We are getting very close to a decision to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X. “In an all-out war, Hezbollah would be destroyed, and Lebanon would be badly beaten,” he added.
Parts of the Hezbollah footage, which was filmed during the day, claimed that Karayot, a cluster of “densely populated” residential towns north of the Israeli city of Haifa and 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the Lebanese border. In the south, with malls and high-rises. It rises
Other parts claimed to show a military complex near Haifa belonging to the Israeli arms company Rafale – containing Iron Dome batteries, missile storage sites and radar sites – and military boats, ships in Haifa's port. and includes oil storage depots.
The release of the video follows a series of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel following Hamas attacks on October 7 and a military campaign by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
03:24 – Source: CNN
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are increasing.
In his response, Katz also highlighted the global impact of any potential attack on Haifa. “(Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan) Nasrallah is bragging today that he photographed the ports of Haifa, which are run by large international companies from China and India, and threatened to damage them,” he said. Is.”
The United States and its allies have for months warned Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist movement that is one of the most powerful paramilitary groups in the Middle East, against escalating the conflict in Israel. Nevertheless, tensions have been rising in recent weeks.
CNN Analysis has geolocated the video to multiple locations around Haifa. These locations include several sensitive areas including at least two military installations: a base in northern Haifa and the port of Haifa. Drones also flew over oil tanks located north of Haifa, Haifa's airport and several residential areas.
CNN also analyzed the shadows in the videos, which indicate that the drone mission over Haifa lasted several hours, or took place over several days. Analysis shows that some parts of the video have been sped up.
Weapons expert Wim Zijnenberg, humanitarian disarmament project leader at the Dutch peace organization PAX, told CNN that one of the drones seen in the footage “appears to be an Iranian-origin model of the Qasif-2k, possibly locally developed.” done.”
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The Haifa port area is visible in the video released by Hezbollah.
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahoo called the video “psychological terrorism” and called for a security plan for her city, criticizing IDF commanders for not visiting Haifa since the October 7 Hamas attack. Is.
“I demand that the government come up with a plan for the massive defense of Haifa and find a military solution to end the threat from the north,” Yahoo told an Israeli radio station. Ratchet beat.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the video.
Hezbollah claimed the video was the “first episode”, suggesting more videos would emerge from inside Israeli territory.
A Hezbollah lawmaker in the Lebanese parliament who referenced the video in a social media post also suggested more were to come.
“This is a party [Hezbollah] declared and you saw, but what is hidden is greater and greater and greater. Haifa and beyond, beyond that, and beyond Haifa,” Ibrahim Mousavi said in the post.
His message appears to be a reference to a phrase Nasrallah said during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, when he said the militant group would fire rockets at Haifa “and beyond Haifa”.
03:24 – Source: CNN
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are increasing.
Israel is preparing for the possibility that diplomatic efforts to ease hostilities with Hezbollah may fail. The release of the footage comes as Israel's military says it has “approved and validated” operational plans for the attack in Lebanon and made decisions about increasing troop readiness in the field.
The IDF said in a statement that the plans were approved by the commanding officer of the Northern Command and the head of the Operations Directorate during a joint situational assessment to prepare for the continuation of the war.
The approval of the operational plans does not mean that war between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent – but it is an indication that Israel intends to be prepared for such a scenario.
Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets, missiles and drones at northern Israel since October 7, claiming its attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Hezbollah has said in the past that it will stop firing on Israel only if Israel stops the war in Gaza.
For its part, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Lebanon and evacuated some 60,000 residents from its northern border. More than 90,000 Lebanese have also fled their homes in the area.
The United States has sought a diplomatic standoff to avoid a wider war in the region, sending special envoy Amos Hochstein to Israel and Lebanon this week to try to ease tensions.