Hassan Nasrallah BEIRUT, June 20 (AFP): 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.
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.
The Hezbollah chief also threatened the nearby island nation of Cyprus if it opened its airports or bases to Israel "to target Lebanon".
Cyprus, a European Union member, is home to two British bases, including an airbase, but they are in sovereign British territory and not controlled by the Cypriot government.
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