The warning comes as Israeli politicians call for action against Hezbollah amid continued retaliatory attacks across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader warned Israel that a full-scale war against Lebanon would result in “heavy losses on both sides” and displace hundreds of thousands more Israelis in the north of the country.
Naim Qassem’s comments on Saturday came as Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “on the verge” of launching a “large and powerful operation” on the country’s northern border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging near-daily fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel launched its deadly war on Gaza in October. The Lebanese armed group has said its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and will stop as soon as Israeli troops end their war and withdraw from the coastal enclave.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has killed dozens of people in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.
Speaking in the Lebanese capital Beirut, Qassem said Hezbollah had no intention of going to war, “because we consider that it would not be useful,” according to the AFP news agency.
“However, if Israel starts a war, we will face it – and there will be heavy losses on both sides,” he said.
“If they think that such a war would allow the 100,000 displaced people to return home… we warn them: prepare for hundreds of thousands more displaced people.”
In the same speech, he added that “Hezbollah’s support for Gaza will continue from Lebanon as long as the war persists, with increased support in response to Israeli aggression,” according to Lebanese TV channel al-Manar.
Israel’s Channel 13 news channel quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Netanyahu planned to launch a major attack on Hezbollah “in the near future,” but has not yet set a date for the escalation.
The Prime Minister’s Office has not made any official comment.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also said last week that Israeli forces were close to completing their mission in Gaza and that their attention would then shift to the country’s northern border with Lebanon.
Gallant told troops stationed on Israel’s northern border that “the center of gravity is shifting north” and that “we are close to completing our tasks in the south.”
He told reporters the same day that he had instructed the Israeli military to “prepare for all scenarios, including directing our attention to the northern region” and that the army was “determined to change the security situation on the northern front and bring our citizens home safely.”
Opposition politicians in Israel have also called for action against Hezbollah.
Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s main political rival, criticized the government on Saturday for “neglecting” residents of northern Israel. “It is time to exercise power and authority against Hezbollah and bring the residents home safely,” he wrote in a message on X.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon have left 623 dead, including 142 civilians, according to an AFP tally, while Hezbollah assaults have killed 24 Israeli soldiers and 26 civilians.
On Saturday night, the Israeli military said its air force carried out attacks on suspected Hezbollah weapons storage facilities at two locations in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, as well as six locations in the south.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least four people were injured in the Israeli attacks in the Bekaa, some 140 km from the Israeli border. Three of the victims in the Hermel district were children, it said.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for at least 12 attacks on Israeli military targets on Saturday, including artillery positions at the Zaura site and weapons and emergency warehouses at Yiftah Elifleet, northwest of the Sea of Galilee.