BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister said Tuesday Washington had given its backing to potential Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb, a Hezbollah bastion, if the Iran-backed group attacked northern Israeli communities.
“The Prime Minister and I led a coordinated move together with the IDF to establish a new equation … If Israeli towns continue to be attacked, we will evacuate and strike the Shiite Dahiyeh quarter in Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold,” Israel Katz said at a conference, a defense ministry statement said.
“The United States endorsed this principle and conveyed it to the Lebanese government and all relevant actors … either the fire on Israeli communities stops, or — if fire continues — we will strike in Dahiyeh. This equation will be upheld.”
Israel conducted strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah fired into northern Israel on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to halt attacks that neither side has publicly accepted.
According to Lebanon’s authorities, Hezbollah would no longer fire into Israel under the agreement, while the Israeli military would cease striking south Beirut, long a bastion of the Iran-backed militant group.
