Iran-backed Hezbollah joining Israel-Hamas conflict would be a | /CIG/ Telegram | Counter Intelligence Global

Iran-backed Hezbollah joining Israel-Hamas conflict would be a 'game changer'

An exchange of fire between Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the armed forces in northern Israel signal that the conflict in Gaza could spread regionally.

With an Israeli ground incursion potentially imminent in the north of the Gaza Strip, the conflict could grow to involve other regional actors, including Hezbollah and potentially Iran, analysts say.

And if Hezbollah decides to join the conflict in neighboring Israel, "it will be nothing short of a game-changer," Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNBC on Wednesday.

"Hamas is but the weak underling of Hezbollah, a much more formidable fighting force and widely recognized as the most powerful nonstate military in the world," he added. "This will be a game-changer, not only for Israel, but also for the entire region."

On Friday, Hezbollah's deputy chief, Naim Qassem, said his party was "fully ready" to contribute to the fighting, according to Reuters. "The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect," he said at a rally, according to a translation by the news agency.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/13/hezbollah-joining-conflict-in-neighboring-israel-would-be-a-gamechanger.html