Did Benjamin Netanyahu call for a civil war in Lebanon when he called on the Lebanese to free themselves from Hezbollah?

Netanyahu called on the Lebanese on Tuesday to “save” their country by freeing it from Hezbollah and threatened to “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if that doesn’t happen.

“They have the opportunity to save the Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” said Netanyahu in a video speech delivered in English. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“I tell you, people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end”held Netanyahu.

“We eliminated (Hassan) Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader killed on September 27 in an Israeli attack in southern Beirut) and the replacement of Nasrallah and the replacement of his replacement”he added.

More than a year ago, the Israeli army launched a massive offensive in Gaza against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which has already left more than 42,000 dead, most of them civilians, and a large part of the Palestinian enclave in ruins.

The White House responded to the statement Netanyahu and said on Wednesday that The United States will not allow “Lebanon to become Gaza.”

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press conference that The Government of President Joe Biden will continue trying to mediate to achieve a solution to end the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza.

A civil war in Lebanon?

The declaration of Netanyahu occurred while Israel expanded its invasion to the southwest of the Lebanon deploying a fourth division of troops and ordering evacuations that go far beyond the buffer zone declared by the United Nations.

Israel has said that his “limited” operation contra Hezbollah is necessary to ensure the safe return and security of the thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel, after the militant and political group backed by Iran began shooting a year ago in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Government of Israel has suggested that this would imply that Hezbollah withdraw north of the Litani River, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which set the terms for a ceasefire in the 2006 war.

Is Netanyahu looking to spark a civil war in Lebanon? For the international analyst Enrique Banus, director of the Institute of European Studies of the University of Piura, Netanyahu is aware that in the Lebanon there is strong opposition to Hezbollahwhich is a very complex country where a large Christian population coexists with Shiite, Sunni, Druze Muslims, among others.

“In neighborhoods not affected by Hezbollah there is great discontent. Many consider themselves hostages Hezbollah. That exists. But the problem is that Hezbollah has the military means, the weapons, etc., and the others do not.. The Lebanese army is relatively small, poorly staffed and doesn’t really play any role. So, Netanyahu seeks to delve into something that is there, but what can it lead to? It is not known”Banús stated to The Commerce.

“I do not see that there are forces capable of effectively dismantling Hezbollah from within Lebanon”he added.

Regarding the warning of the White House so that he Lebanon don’t become another GazaBanús indicated that it is clear that Netanyahu does not listen to Washington when making their decisions.

“Also, the United States, how do you want to avoid that. What ability do you have to avoid it? Are you going to put your troops there to stop Israel?”Banús asked.

“The good news, in quotes, is that At least Netanyahu and Biden have talked againbecause they’ve had a time where they just broke sticks. “As long as they continue talking, there is a certain hope that this will serve to calm or appease the situation a little,” the analyst said.

“It is clear that the United States supports Israel, and will continue to do so. But perhaps it can have a certain moderating influence. I doubt it, because also in other cases Netanyahu “has not paid any attention to the warnings of the United States,” Banús insisted.

Israel increases its military presence

According to The Times of Israel, The total number of Israeli soldiers deployed in Lebanon could now exceed 15,000. In addition, Israel has ordered the evacuation of more than 130 Lebanese towns.

Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired brigadier general and former director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, said at a news conference that while the immediate objective of Israel is to destroy weapons and infrastructure HezbollahIn addition to decapitating the group, the Army is already working on two other military purposes.

“The second effort is to prevent Hezbollah can be rearmed”, Kuperwasser detailed quoted by the EFE agency.

The third point, Kuperwasser maintained, would consist of destroy the tunnels and fixed infrastructure on the southern border, that are used by Hezbollah’s elite forces to arm themselves and take refuge after carrying out attacks towards Israel.

After achieving these goals, Israel will be closer to being able to return the 60,000 displaced people in the north to their homes, he added.

The operations in the Lebanonwhere there are hand-to-hand confrontations, since have left at least 12 Israeli soldiers dead. An Israeli commander acknowledged to the EFE agency that the preparation of Hezbollah militiamen is greater than that of Hamas.

“The militiamen of Hezbollah They are much more prepared, we know that they train with Iran and many of them have a lot of experience from the last civil war in Syria,” said the commander, who stressed that his Army has the capacity to “face them.”