June 18, 2024 | Flash Brief

Hezbollah Threatens Haifa During U.S. Envoy’s Diplomatic Mission

June 18, 2024 | Flash Brief

Hezbollah Threatens Haifa During U.S. Envoy’s Diplomatic Mission

Latest Developments

Hezbollah aired a video secretly taken by one of its drones over Israel’s strategic port of Haifa on June 18 as a U.S. envoy pressed Beirut to rein in the Lebanese terrorist group.

The aerial footage, almost 10 minutes in length, signaled that the Iran-backed terrorist organization had Israel’s third-largest city, located 17 miles from the Lebanese border, in its sights. The missile and drone attacks launched by Hezbollah in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel have so far stopped short of Haifa.

Visiting Beirut after talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein told reporters the conflict had reached a “critical moment.” Hochstein promoted a May 31 proposal by President Joe Biden to wind down the Gaza war and, coextensively, to bring quiet to the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Hochtein’s troubleshooting tour, coinciding with the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, saw a lull in Hezbollah provocations. Following the release of the Haifa footage, the IDF said it attacked Hezbollah drone operators in Lebanon.

Expert Analysis

“In the unwritten rules of engagement between Israel and Hezbollah, attacking Haifa is a red line which, if crossed, could trigger full-blown war. The city is vitally important militarily, commercially, and, given its vulnerable oil refineries, environmentally to Israel’s national security.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Haifa represents everything that Hezbollah and its patron Iran despise. It is a thriving city in which Jews and Arabs coexist, and it even hosts the headquarters of the Bahai, a religious minority persecuted in Iran. Israel seeks to prevent a repeat of 2006, in which Hezbollah’s inaccurate rockets aimed at Haifa killed Jews and Arabs alike.” — David May, FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“IDF Kills Senior Hezbollah Rocket Force Commander in Airstrike,” FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Envoy Arrives in Israel Amid Growing Focus on Hezbollah Escalation,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Faces Two-Front War as Hezbollah Increases Rocket Attacks,” by Seth J. Frantzman

Issues:

Issues:

Hezbollah Iran Iran Global Threat Network Israel Israel at War Lebanon Military and Political Power

Topics:

Topics:

Amos Hochstein Arabs Beirut Eid al-Adha Gaza City Haifa Hamas Hezbollah Iran Israel Israel Defense Forces Jerusalem Jewish people Joe Biden Lebanon