Israel-Hezbollah: “In the Near and Middle East, we dance on a volcano,” declares Sébastien Lecornu

Since the entry into force of the truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday, calm seems to reign between southern Lebanon and northern Israel where exchanges of fire have taken place daily in recent weeks, opposing Hezbollah in the IDF. Are we moving towards a second front for Israel?

“A slow, progressive but certain increase in pressure”

According to Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, guest of La Grande interview Europe 1-CNews on Tuesday, there is “a slow, progressive but unfortunately certain increase in pressure”. “Hezbollah’s fire towards Israel leads to responses in self-defense from Israel, particularly important responses which can sometimes threaten the security of our holds and our French soldiers,” he indicated. Today, 700 French soldiers are on the border between Lebanon and Israel as part of a United Nations observation and deconfliction mission.

A new war with Israel?

Speaking to Europe 1-CNews, Sébastien Lecornu does not rule out the possibility of a second front for Israel. “[On peut se réveiller avec un nouveau front] and a regional escalation that would be absolutely terrible. I believe that we must also tell the truth to our fellow citizens, in the Near and Middle East we are dancing on a volcano. And so the humanitarian truces that are requested, the way in which we ask our Israeli friends to take into account the civilian populations in Gaza, all of this forms a whole. We defend our values, but we also seek to control any form of escalation which would be absolutely terrible, including for our safety,” he declared.

According to an AFP count, cross-border clashes have left 109 dead in Lebanon, at least 77 of whom are Hezbollah fighters. According to Israeli authorities, at least six Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed.