Netanyahu Warns Lebanon

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on Wednesday, June 6, during a visit to northern areas of the country, threatened Lebanon with a "harsh action" from Israel. According to the Israeli news site i24, Mr. Netanyahu stated: "Anyone who thinks they can harm us while we stand by with our arms crossed is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a harsh action in the north and will establish security in the north." Thousands of residents in northern Israel have been forced to leave their homes due to border clashes between Hezbollah of Lebanon and the Israeli army. The Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the militia group backed by the Islamic Republic, stated on Tuesday, June 5, that Hezbollah is not seeking to escalate its conflict with Israel but is ready to fight any conflict imposed upon it. Sheikh Naeem Qassem told Al Jazeera: "The expansion of the war is not Hezbollah's decision, but if war is imposed, we will fight Israel." Clashes at the Lebanon-Israel border, which have been ongoing for several months, have intensified in recent days. Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that it had launched a squadron of suicide drones at an Israeli military base for the second consecutive day, describing it as a response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The recent months have seen the worst clashes between Israel and Hezbollah since the 2006 war. Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel; the Houthis in Yemen also claimed to have targeted the port of Eilat. Standard Chartered Bank has been accused of $100 billion in financial transactions with Tehran-backed groups. A car explosion in Damascus left one dead; two Hezbollah members were killed in a drone attack attributed to Israel.