Israel evacuates towns near Lebanon as threatens to ‘destroy’ the country if Hezbollah enters war

Israel has started to evacuate residents in villages close to the border with Lebanon while threatening to “destroy” the country if its Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah enters the war with Hamas terrorists.

The Israeli military ordered people living in 28 communities within 1.2 miles of the border with Lebanon after an exchange of rocket fire Sunday with the Lebanese Shiite militia, Hezbollah.

Those civilians will be put up in “state-funded guesthouses” in towns in the center of Israel considered to be safer, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said — though Hezbollah’s weapons are feared to be able to reach as far as Tel Aviv, according to the Times of Israel.

Israeli military officials are now warning Lebanon to stand down.

Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli national security advisor, warned Hezbollah in a televised briefing on Monday to stop its attacks or reckon with “the destruction of Lebanon.”

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said Hezbollah will face a “deadly” response if it continues to carry out the attacks against Israel.

“Hezbollah carried out a number of attacks yesterday in order to try to divert our operational efforts [away from the Gaza Strip], under the direction and backing of Iran, while endangering the state of Lebanon and its citizens,” he said in a news conference, according to the Times of Israel.

“We have increased our forces on the northern border, and respond aggressively to any activity against us.

“If Hezbollah dares to test us, the reaction will be deadly,” he continued, adding: “The United States is giving us full backing.”

The warning came after the IDF announced Hezbollah fired multiple anti-tank missiles on Sunday — wounding at least four civilians.

One man in his 40s and a soldier also died in the attacks, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Hezbollah Deputy Chief Naim Qassem had vowed on Friday that Lebanon would join the fight “when the time comes for action.”

He told supporters in a Beirut suburb that Hezbollah was rejecting foreign nations’ calls for the Lebanese militant group to not get involved, as Hezbollah’s leader was meeting with Iran’s foreign minister to discuss the situation.

“The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly, telling us not to interfere will have no effect,” Qassem said.

“Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well,” he continued. “We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment.”

Iran also warned Israel on Sunday of a potential regional war, according to The Telegraph.

“If the Zionist aggressions do not stop, the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger,” Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said.

With Post wires