Israel-Hezbollah tensions fuel fears Gaza war will widen into regional conflict

NEWS WIRES

20 June 2024 at 5:55 am·1-min read

Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive.

Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for a deadly air strike in south Lebanon that Israel said killed a Hezbollah operative.

Hezbollah also claimed several other attacks on Israeli troops and positions on Thursday.

Experts are divided on the prospect of wider war, almost nine months into Israel's vow to eradicate Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's group and Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily fire since Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the Gaza war, and the bellicose talk has escalated along with the strikes.

In a televised address, Nasrallah said "no place" in Israel would "be spared our rockets" if a wider war began.

The chief of the Iran-backed group also threatened nearby Cyprus if it opened its airports or bases to Israel "to target Lebanon".

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