Israel Warns Naim Qassem: There Will Be No Hezbollah in That Case

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Israel has issued a warning to the Lebanese Hezbollah against intervening in its ongoing war with Iran, responding to statements by the group and anticipating its potential involvement.

In a statement released Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “I advise the Lebanese proxy to be cautious and understand that Israel has lost patience with the terrorists threatening it.”

He added, “If terrorism occurs, there will no longer be a Hezbollah.”

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The U.S. Also Issues a Warning

On Thursday, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barak, speaking from Beirut, warned that Hezbollah’s entry into the Iranian-Israeli conflict would be “a very bad decision.”

While Hezbollah condemned Israel’s strikes on Tehran at the onset of the conflict last week, it has not declared any official involvement yet, following a bloody war with Israel that ended in a ceasefire on November 27.

Asked about Hezbollah‘s possible participation in the war, Barak told reporters after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri: “I can speak on behalf of President Trump, who was very clear, as was Special Envoy Steve Witkoff: this would be a very, very, very bad decision.”

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“We Will Act as We See Fit”

On Thursday evening, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem stated that the group “would act as it sees fit” in the ongoing war between Israel and Tehran.

“We are not neutral in Hezbollah (…) We stand with Iran, its leadership, and its people, and we will act accordingly in this confrontation,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it was continuing contacts to “spare Lebanon from any negative fallout” of the war.

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Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, after meeting with Barak, reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to “security and stability and its refusal to be drawn into the ongoing regional war,” according to a post on the X platform.

Months after the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes in various areas of Lebanon, including Beirut’s southern suburbs, stressing it will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities after the significant military and leadership losses it suffered in the war.

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