Israel warns of 'all-out war' after Hezbollah releases videos of military, civilian sites CNN

Beirut
CNN
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Israel warned Hezbollah on Tuesday of the possibility of “all-out war” after the Lebanese militant group released a 9-minute video, allegedly taken by a drone, showing Israeli military and civilian positions in several Israeli cities.

“We are very close to deciding to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X. “In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed, and Lebanon will be severely defeated,” he added.

Some of the Hezbollah footage filmed during the day claimed to show a cluster of “overpopulated” residential towns, malls and high-rises, north of the Israeli city of Haifa and 28 km (17 mi) south of the border with Lebanon.

Other parts claim to show a military complex near Haifa – including Iron Dome batteries, missile storage sites and radar sites – belonging to Israeli arms maker Rafael, and military boats, ships and oil storage depots in Haifa port.

The video's release comes amid months of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel. Hamas attacks on October 7and subsequent military operations by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.

In his response, Katz also mentioned the global response to any potential attack on Haifa. “(Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan) Nasrallah is bragging today that he has taken pictures of the Haifa port, which is run by huge international companies in China and India, and threatens to damage them,” he said.

The United States and its allies have for months warned against escalating the conflict in Israel with Iran-backed Islamist movement Hezbollah, one of the Middle East's most powerful paramilitaries. Nevertheless, there was excitement rising In recent weeks

CNN analysis geolocates the video to several locations around Haifa. These locations include several sensitive areas with at least two military installations: a base in northern Haifa and the port of Haifa. The drone also flew over oil tanks located north of Haifa, Haifa Airport and several residential areas.

CNN also analyzed the shadows of the videos, which indicated that the drone mission in Haifa lasted several hours or took place over several days. Analysis shows that some parts of the video have been sped up.

Weapons expert Wim Zwijenberg, leader of the humanitarian disarmament project at the Dutch peace organization PAX, told CNN that a drone visible in the footage was “an Iranian-origin model of a Kassaf-2k, probably locally made.”

Haifa's mayor, Yona Yahav, described the video as “psychological terrorism” and demanded a security plan for his city, criticizing IDF commanders for not visiting Haifa since the October 7 Hamas attack.

“I demand that the government present a plan for the comprehensive defense of Haifa and find a military solution to eliminate the threat from the north,” Yahav told an Israeli radio station. Reset Bet.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the video.

Hezbollah claimed the video was the “first phase” of more videos to come from deep inside Israeli territory.

A Hezbollah lawmaker in Lebanon's parliament who mentioned the video in a social media post suggested more to come.

“This group (Hezbollah) has announced and you have seen, but what is hidden is bigger and bigger! Haifa and beyond, beyond Haifa, and beyond Haifa,” Ibrahim Mousavi said in the post.

His message appeared to be a reference to a phrase coined by Nasrallah during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, when he said the militant group would fire rockets into Haifa “and beyond Haifa”.

Israel is bracing for the possibility that diplomatic efforts to ease hostilities with Hezbollah may fail. The footage was released as Israel's military said it had “approved and validated” operational plans for an invasion of Lebanon and decided to increase the readiness of troops in the field.

The IDF said in a statement that the plans were approved by the commanding officer of the Northern Command and the head of the Operations Directorate during a joint situational assessment to prepare for the continuation of the war.

The approval of the operational plan does not mean that a war between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent – ​​but it does indicate that Israel wants to prepare for such a scenario.

Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel since October 7, claiming their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Hezbollah has said in the past that it will stop firing on Israel only if Israel stops fighting in Gaza.

For its part, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Lebanon and evacuated an estimated 60,000 residents from its northern border. More than 90,000 Lebanese have also fled their homes in the area.

The United States has sought a diplomatic off-ramp to avoid a wider war that could spill over into the region, sending special envoy Amos Hochstein to Israel and Lebanon this week to try to ease tensions.