Israel Threatens to Evacuate Beirut’s Southern Suburbs and Displace One Million Lebanese if Hezbollah Attacks

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Wednesday to order the evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah joined an attack against Israel.

“If Hezbollah joins Iran in attacking us, more than one million Shiites will be displaced,” he said, adding that the group would then suffer “a severe blow”.

He also said the Israeli military was prepared to take control of additional territory in Lebanon if Hezbollah intervened alongside Iran.

Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed that Israel “will not withdraw from the security zones in Lebanon and Syria”, a position he said they had repeatedly made clear.

He made the remarks during a visit to the Lebanese border, accompanied by Israeli Northern Command chief Major General Rafi Milo and other military commanders.

His comments come amid continuing tension on the Lebanese front and stalled implementation of security understandings announced last June, following months of fighting across large parts of Lebanon.

The latest round of war began on March 2, when Hezbollah entered the confrontation alongside Iran following the US-Israeli attack on that country.

Israeli military operations expanded to Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs, while Israeli forces advanced into Lebanese territory and established positions there.