Israel threatens to send Lebanon 'back to Stone Age'

 Israel threatens to send Lebanon 'back to Stone Age' as UN warns of 'potentially apocalyptic' all-out war between IDF and Hezbollah

• Border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated in recent weeks
• Easing the Gaza offensive may free up Israeli forces to redeploy to the border 
  
  
  

• Israel has sent a stark warning to Hezbollah that it could 'take Lebanon back to the Stone Age' if border clashes erupt into a wider regional war.

  Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant made the comments during a visit to Washington on Wednesday, stressing that Israel would sooner avoid escalation.

  'We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,' he told reporters. 'Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched.'

• Israeli forces have exchanged fire with the militants based in Lebanon ever since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hezbollah's ally Hamas.

  Fears of the border skirmishes boiling over into a full-blown was have grown in recent weeks since Israel revealed it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive, prompting new threats from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

  Warning against the escalation of hostilities, the UN's humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday that Lebanon was 'the flashpoint beyond all flashpoints'.

  'It's beyond planning. It's potentially apocalyptic,' warned Griffiths, whose term ends this week.

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