Netanyahu discusses Hezbollah with security chiefs amid violations on border by terror group members

Several Hezbollah operatives were caught waving the group’s flag and violating the UNIFIL border. 

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened with Israel’s senior defense officials on Sunday to evaluate the security situation, his office said in a statement, following border violations by members of the Hezbollah terror group.

Netanyahu’s meeting included Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Mossad Director David Barnea, National Security Council Chief Tzachi Hanegbi, IDF intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

According to reports, defense officials briefed Netanyahu on an intelligence overview and situation assessments, with a focus on potential provocations from Hezbollah.

“The prime minister accepted the recommendations and courses of action proposed by the IDF and the defense establishment,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

The officials warned Netanyahu that any “missteps by [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah could ignite a conflict along the entire front,” Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Meanwhile, in videos posted to social media on Sunday, several Hezbollah operatives were caught violating a UNIFIL boundary, while waving the group’s flag, and crossing from norther Ghajar, considered part of Lebanon, and southern Ghajar, considered part of Israel.

The village of Ghajar was split by the UN in 2000 when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon.

Over the weekend, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah issued his second threatening speech in recent weeks, warning that the Middle East would not rest until “cancerous” Israel was annihilated.

He also claimed that Israel was about to disappear because of the turmoil in the country over the government’s plans for judicial reform.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli media reported that Gallant had recently pre-approved several options for IDF action against Hezbollah and raised the alert level along the entire northern border.

“[Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah has been weighing for a while whether to take chances at the border,” a senior security official was cited by the Walla news site, “because he is incorrectly calculating the degree of operational preparedness of the IDF for all kinds of scenarios.”

The developments come in the wake of several cross-border microaggressions initiated by Hezbollah over the last several weeks, including firing an anti-tank missile over the border, igniting fireworks at Israeli troops, and scaling the border wall to steal an IDF surveillance camera.