Intensifying Israeli strikes on Lebanon's Hezbollah fuel fears of spreading conflict
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00:00 200 kilometres north of Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits soldiers
00:05 on the second front line, the border with Lebanon.
00:09 It's the site of daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which controls
00:14 southern Lebanon.
00:15 For Netanyahu, this is not a diversion from the war with Hamas, but part of what he called
00:20 a double battle, as well as crushing Hamas in Gaza, deterring its ally Hezbollah here.
00:26 He had a stark promise.
00:28 "If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will long for the days of the second Lebanon
00:35 war.
00:36 It will make the mistake of its life.
00:38 We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the meaning for Hezbollah
00:42 and for the state of Lebanon will be devastating.
00:46 But we are prepared for any scenario."
00:51 Netanyahu was referring to the last major escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, a
00:55 month-long conflict in 2006 that left more than a thousand Lebanese people dead, mostly
01:00 civilians.
01:02 It severely damaged Lebanon's economy and infrastructure.
01:06 But on Saturday, Hezbollah leaders said they were already part of the battle and would
01:10 not hesitate to intervene further if necessary.
01:14 Hezbollah delivered its own warning.
01:17 "I will offer advice to Israel and those who support it.
01:24 You suffered a terrible defeat during the Hamas attack on October 7.
01:29 Be satisfied with that and stop so that you do not face another defeat because you continue
01:34 doing what you are doing.
01:37 You have no hope of victory."
01:44 With no let-up in the rocket fire and no sign of a calm in tensions, Israeli and Lebanese
01:49 civilians have been evacuating from the border areas.
01:53 But the fear is that an escalation in the conflict won't be limited to this region,
01:58 but will explode across the Middle East.