Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Image: Shutterstock)
The under-pressure leader reiterated that he has no plans to impose a temporary ceasefire in Gaza until all 240 hostages are released.
It came as the leader of the terror group Hezbollah – Hassan Nasrallah – warned that Hamas’s war with the Jewish state is “now on more than one front” after the Iranian-backed militia launched missiles from Lebanon in the north.
Nasrallah also praised Hamas’s massacre of 1,400 people on October 7, saying the “glorious jihadi operation” – which they call the Al-Aqsa Flood – revealed the weakness of Israel and its army.
Mr Netanyahu hit back, saying: “I tell our enemies in the north, don’t test us, you will pay dearly.
“As for the northern front, I reiterate to our enemies – do not be mistaken about us.
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“Such a mistake will be very costly. You will pay an unimaginable price.”
Earlier, Nasrallah goaded Israel and Mr Netanyahu as he praised last month’s “blessed” bloodbath.
The Lebanese cleric used his first speech since the incursion, which inflicted the biggest single loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust, to warn: “I assure you, this will not be the end.”
Nasrallah’s chilling words came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv to press for a humanitarian “pause” in the war and for more aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza.
As Israeli troops yesterday tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, Mr Blinken conceded these were difficult days.
He repeated that the US stood in solidarity with Israel, saying: “We stand strongly with Israel. It has the right and obligation to defend itself and to ensure the events of 7 October never happen again.”
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Image: Associated Press)
But Mr Blinken added that “how Israel does this matters”.
He said it was important to think of the civilians “caught in the crossfire of Hamas’s making”.
The Secretary of State called for everything to be done to protect them and bring assistance to those who desperately need it. He said both countries had a shared determination to work together on that.
Mr Blinken also said that he and President Joe Biden were thinking “every single moment of our hostages – so many, both Israelis, Americans, other nationals”.
He added: “We’re determined to do everything we can to bring them back safely to be with their families and loved ones.” Meanwhile, Hezbollah fighters continue to battle Israeli troops on the Jewish state’s northern borders.
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Nasrallah stressed they have been engaged “from the very first day” of the war alongside Hamas “brothers” to the south in Gaza.
The 63-year-old firebrand’s speech, delivered from a secret location but broadcast to public places across Lebanon, sparked celebratory gunfire in the capital Beirut. He told followers: “My brothers and sisters, peace be upon you all. I welcome this big number of people to celebrate the lives of our martyrs.”
Celebrating Hamas’s orgy of murder, rape and torture last month, he denied prior knowledge of the incursion.
Nasrallah said: “This glorious, blessed large-scale operation was 100% Palestinian in terms of decision and execution. The Palestinians had kept it secret. We are entitled to take pride in them.”
He saluted Hamas’s killers, also funded by Iran, as heroes who would take their place in heaven.
The leader of the Shia group since 1992 then warned not only Israel but the US and UK.
He said: “What’s happening on the border might seem modest but is very important. I assure you, this will not be the end. This will not be sufficient. There must be a big event to shake this occupier Zionist regime with backers in Washington and London.”
Nasrallah told President Biden that his group were ready to face US warships, adding: “Your fleet in the Mediterranean does not scare us.”
Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces staged large-scale raids on the occupied West Bank overnight, killing seven Palestinians and arresting scores more. The IDF said Hamas fighters were killed after throwing explosives at soldiers and that ordnance was found buried under the Jenin refugee camp.
Israeli raids on the West Bank since the start of the war have left at least 141 Palestinians dead in what the UN says is the deadliest period in the territory’s history.
