Smoke billows during an Israeli bombardment on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on 19 June 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Tel Aviv, June 22 (RHC)- An Israeli minister says the regime is preparing for "mass burials" in case of a large-scale war with Lebanon, as tensions continue to escalate between the two sides.
Michael Malchieli, the religious affairs minister, told Israeli Channel 14 on Wednesday that mass casualties are anticipated ahead of a possible military conflict with Lebanon. He went on to say that his ministry has been "busy" with many issues relating to the war.
When asked about the possibility of carrying out mass burials in case of a military conflict with Lebanon, he confirmed that they were expecting further deaths. "We are holding meetings in the office to prepare for bigger things in the north, yes," he said.
Israel threatened Lebanon with an “all-out war” earlier this week with the military saying “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated.”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned the regime on Wednesday that "no place" in the occupied territories would be spared in case of a full-blown war. Israel must “wait for us on land, by sea and by air,” he said in a televised address.
His remarks came a day after Hezbollah published video footage gathered from its surveillance aircraft of strategic locations in the northern part of the 1948 occupied territories, including sea and air ports in the city of Haifa.
Nasrallah underscored that Hezbollah’s publication of the video footage was part of the group’s psychological warfare against the Tel Aviv regime. The nearly 10-minute video was gathered from a surveillance aircraft of key locations in the northern city of Haifa.
Hezbollah has been carrying out almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions in retaliation for the regime’s aggression against Lebanon and in response to the ongoing Israeli onslaught against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The genocidal war in Gaza has killed over 37,400 Palestinians, predominantly women and children so far.
At least 455 people have also been killed on the Lebanese border, including more than 80 civilians, according to a tally by AFP.
Two Israeli wars waged against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006 were met with strong resistance from Hezbollah, resulting in the retreat of the regime in both conflicts.
