"Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon to a possible war, and is making mistakes," Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a situational assessment near the Lebanese border Saturday, adding that the Lebanese citizens would be the first to pay the price for this kind of mistake. "What we can do in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut."
In his speech, made alongside the commander of the IDF's Division 91 and other senior officers serving in the region, the defense minister stated that Hezbollah is no longer making just provocations, but aggression, following several exchanges of fire over the border throughout October and early November.
"Our pilots are sitting in their cockpits, their aircraft facing north," Gallant said, stressing that the IDF already has mobilized enough forces for its goals in the South against Hamas, and the Israel Air Force has plenty of power to spare. "We haven't even used 10% of the IAF's power in Gaza."
Responding to threats from Hezbollah leader Nasrallah
Gallant's speech followed statements made earlier in the day by Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah, where the terrorist organization's leader warned Israel against retaliating against them in Lebanon.
"The Israeli cruelty is intended to subjugate the people of the region and crush the legitimate demand for rights," Nasrallah declared in his speech.
"The occupation turns to Lebanon after its crimes in Gaza and deliberate and cruel killings," he continued. "The occupation is making a mistake again, and all its objectives will fail."
Maariv Online and Reuters contributed to this report.