Benny Gantz, the Israeli defense minister, recently pledged that Israel will not permit Hezbollah and other Iranian allies to be equipped with advanced weaponry.
These talks come not only from the history of instability, conflict, and tension between these camps but in the context of recurrent Israeli airstrikes aiming at Iranian-backed militias in Syria.
“We won’t allow Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the area to be equipped with weaponry that will harm Israel’s military superiority in the region,” Gantz declared in a weapon factory opening in Northern Israel.
The Israelis have always been very careful about the possibilities of the expansion of Iranian power and its proxies, as it is a threat to their existence.
“Israel was simultaneously working continuously to prevent war but, if one breaks out, it {Israel) will be prepared to carry out operations that we haven’t seen in the past, with means we did not have in past, that will hit the heart of terror entities and their capabilities,” Gantz said.
Israel has been continuously carrying out airstrikes inside Syria, targeting the government troops along with Hezbollah forces. In October, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a weapons convoy heading to Hezbollah through Syria.
The Israeli government made it clear that it will not let Syria become a “bridge” for Iran to expand its influence in the Middle East, which is a hub for strategic influences and interests, and thus suffers from great complexity.
