Israel Reportedly Warns Lebanon Against Hezbollah Joining Renewed Iran Fighting

Israel has reportedly warned Lebanon's government that fighting would return to Lebanon if Hezbollah joined a future Israel-Iran confrontation. A disclosure published on Monday evening says the message was passed through American mediation in recent days, as Israel prepared for the possibility of another front. According to the report, Israel asked the Lebanese army to change its deployment and establish checkpoints in areas where Hezbollah operatives live. The demand was linked to concern that the organization could come under heavy pressure from Tehran to join fighting if hostilities with Iran resumed. The warning to Beirut was conditional on Hezbollah entering that confrontation. The account also describes increased Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon over the preceding three weeks. It says the targets were mainly in open areas that Lebanese troops had not yet reached. The reported explanation for the slow Lebanese deployment includes shortages of personnel and motivation, and possibly a lack of operational capability. Those explanations were not presented as an official Lebanese army statement. The warning reportedly came despite direct Israeli-Lebanese talks over recent months. The disclosed message focuses on army deployments and checkpoints as measures against Hezbollah opening another front; the report does not identify a deadline for carrying out those requests.