The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah will not immediately go to war against Israel when Israeli ground forces intervene in the Gaza Strip, as the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas could resist for months, the defense minister said. on Sunday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon Abdallah Bou Habib in an interview given to the independent station MTV Lebanon, which is quoted by EFE, reports Agerpres.

“Hezbollah will not leave immediately when (the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza – no) happens. Hamas says it can hold out for months and at the beginning of the invasion there will be no reaction from Hezbollah or any regional organization,” said the head of Lebanese diplomacy.

In an interview, Bou Habib stated that “Hezbollah’s first approach, if the situation in Gaza does not deteriorate, is non-intervention”, although he clarified that the Lebanese government “does not have any control over them”, although “it is always a dialogue there”.

The head of Lebanese diplomacy also said that he “always” reminds those in Hezbollah that “Lebanon was destroyed in 2006, but they came out stronger” and that today “they have more power than before.”

“I don’t think he wants war”

“Every day you hear Israelis talking about Lebanon. While Hezbollah does not say anything. Of course there is an intervention from their leaders, but Mr. Hassan (Nasrallah – the leader of Hezbollah – no) has not said anything yet. “I don’t think he wants war,” Bou Habib said.

The Lebanese minister was alluding to statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, who warned that if the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah went to war against Israel in support of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, it would make the “biggest mistake of its life.” and will “skip” the 2006 conflict.

This was Netanyahu’s response to a statement made on Saturday by the Shiite group, which said that if it was necessary to “intervene” in the current war between Israel and Hamas, “it will be”.

During a visit to Israeli troops stationed on the border with Lebanon, where clashes are escalating, Netanyahu said, according to a press release, that “if Hezbollah decides to go to war (with Hamas), it will skip the Second Lebanon War. He will make the biggest mistake of his life.”

“We will hit Hezbollah with a force that it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for them and for Lebanon will be devastating,” the Israeli prime minister warned.

Netanyahu also addressed the military he visited. “I know you’ve lost friends and it’s very hard, but this is the fight of our lives, the fight for our home. This is not an exaggeration, this is the war. Kill or be killed, and you must kill,” he told the soldiers.

Hezbollah “will pay a very high price”

For his part, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said Saturday, speaking at a funeral for members of the group killed in battle, that the Shiite organization would “enter the war” if Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza. .

In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hezbollah “will pay a very high price” because “it is already engaged in hostilities.”

Lebanon’s foreign minister also told MTV Lebanon that “the Americans and others must continue to put pressure on Israel not to start a war in Lebanon” and that his country is working “with Hezbollah to keep (the group) at bay.”

“History is in Israel and they (the West) must stop it to avoid a regional war,” reiterated Lebanon’s foreign minister, who warned that “the forces of the surrounding countries, which I will not name, are ready and have already started moving.”

The Lebanese politician concluded his interview with a reflection: “When there is a reason, resistance cannot be stopped. Even if they succeed in destroying Hamas, they will not be able to do so (the end of the resistance is not). There will be another Hamas because the population is very oppressed.”

Lebanon wants “peace”

Earlier last week, Bou Habib reiterated at a press conference that his country wants “peace,” but warned that for that Israel must stop attacks in southern Lebanon, as well as stop its actions against the Gaza Strip.

Since October 8, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have carried out cross-attacks in the border areas, which have also been retaliated against by Palestinian groups present in Lebanon.

The escalation has raised fears that Lebanon will become a second front in the war between Israel and Gaza militias, while the Lebanese government is maintaining domestic and international contacts to try to prevent it from happening.