Gantz on Northern Border Warns Iran and Hezbollah

Israel’s Minister of Defense Benny Gantz called on Tuesday for international action to curb Iran and warned against a spillover from Lebanon that he said would not be tolerated.

“The crisis in Lebanon is devastating. The State of Israel calls on the international community to aid Lebanon. We are also willing to provide assistance, however we will not enable the tragedy in Lebanon to cross the border into Israel. We are well aware of Hezbollah’s attempts to exploit the situation at the expense of the safety and livelihoods of Lebanese citizens – under the direct influence of Iran.”

Gantz spoke following a situation assessment with the senior commanders of the Northern Command and was then briefed in the northern town of Shlomi.

“Just as we saw in the maritime attack, which claimed the lives of two foreign nationals, Iran is the greatest threat to global and regional peace. Israel will not stand by while Iran advances its nuclear program. We call on the international community to take action and stop Iranian aggression. This is the time for joint action.”

“At the same time, we will continue to defend ourselves against the Iranian attempt to become an existential threat to the State of Israel and to transfer advanced munitions to its proxies on our borders. We will operate in the time and place and via the means that we will determine,” Gantz said.