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'All-out' Israel-Hezbollah War Would 'Cross a Red line with No Easy Way Back'

A fire blazes on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border following attacks from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
A fire blazes on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border following attacks from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
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'All-out' Israel-Hezbollah War Would 'Cross a Red line with No Easy Way Back'

A fire blazes on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border following attacks from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
A fire blazes on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border following attacks from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin

Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive.

According to AFP, experts are divided on the prospect of wider war, almost nine months into Israel's vow to eradicate Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday Israel's top army spokesman said Hamas, as an ideology, cannot be eliminated. Others, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have also pointed to the difficulty of destroying the Islamist group.

In a televised address, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said "no place" in Israel would "be spared our rockets" if war began. Nasrallah's Iran-backed group has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel since Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, but the fire from Hezbollah rockets, Israeli warplanes and other weapons has escalated in the past few weeks.

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Arab World

Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Village, Palestinian Reported Killed

Israeli troops stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma/File Photo
Israeli troops stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma/File Photo
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Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Village, Palestinian Reported Killed

Israeli troops stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma/File Photo
Israeli troops stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma/File Photo

Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person, authorities said on Thursday.
The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers' gunfire during the incident in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank, Reuters reported.
Footage shared on social media showed cars and houses on fire following the attacks.
The White House said late on Thursday attacks by settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were "unacceptable and must stop."
"Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account," a White House spokesperson added.
The Israeli military said police and army units intervened and arrested one Israeli. It condemned the incident, which it said diverted security forces from other responsibilities.
The military said it was examining reports about the death of the Palestinian.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying he viewed the incident with "utmost severity".
"Those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried," it said.
Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the incidents have attracted increasing concern internationally.
The United States and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks.