Tel Aviv, March 5, 2026
The Israeli military on Thursday said that Hezbollah’s involvement in the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv has reinforced Israel’s concerns about Iran’s proxy network, describing it as an “existential threat” to the country.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, IDF International Spokesperson Lt Ben Cohen said Hezbollah’s entry into the conflict highlighted the extent of Iran’s influence over regional militant groups.
“Two days ago, the entry of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation proved that the Iranian proxy network is an existential threat to Israel, because it entered the conflict at that peak moment when Israel is working on defending itself from that existential threat in the Iranian terror regime,” Cohen said.
He added that Iranian officials who survived the initial phase of Israel’s military operation had exerted pressure on Hezbollah to join the confrontation, underscoring the group’s alignment with Tehran’s interests.
“Senior Iranian officials, those who survived the opening days of the operation, put a lot of pressure on Hezbollah to join the war, proving that they are there to defend Iranian interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people. Israel understands that we cannot allow for a threat like that to exist on our border, and that is why we started targeting, precisely targeting Hezbollah terrorist targets in order to prevent that threat to our civilians,” he said.
Cohen explained that Israel’s response involves a two-pronged strategy that combines targeted military operations with defensive measures to safeguard civilians along the northern border.
“Within that construct, we have two main efforts, one of them being the targeting, the aerial targeting of specific targets that were intended to harm Israeli civilians, including weapons storage facilities and command and control centres, and the other effort is to defend Israel’s northern civilians,” he said.
He also referred to the events of October 8 last year, when Israel evacuated tens of thousands of residents from areas near the Lebanese border due to escalating tensions with Hezbollah.
“On October 8, Israel had to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians from the northern border to protect them from Hezbollah. Instead of doing that now, we have a forward defensive posture, not a ground invasion, a forward defensive posture of IDF forces in southern Lebanon, and that’s to protect the Israeli civilians in the north,” Cohen told IANS.
Responding to a question on whether Hamas is attempting to exploit the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran, the IDF spokesperson said the militant group has continued its hostile actions despite a ceasefire arrangement in recent months.
“Hamas has continuously been targeting Israel for a long time, and as we have the ceasefire agreement over recent months, they have continuously violated the ceasefire agreement. We’ve seen that time and time again, where they cross the yellow line and try to target IDF forces,” he said.
He maintained that Israel has adhered to the terms of the ceasefire and has responded only when violations occurred.
“The IDF, in contrast, hasn’t violated the ceasefire agreement. We’ve only struck in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement, and we continue to be prepared on the southern front. If Hamas should choose to try something that is different from what they’ve been trying over recent months, we’re prepared for that,” Cohen added.
He further emphasised that Israel remains alert to the possibility of other Iran-backed groups entering the conflict.
“We understand that we have to be prepared for that, like we were prepared for Hezbollah joining, like we’ll be prepared for any one of the other Iranian proxies to try to join the war,” he said.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Israeli military announced that Hezbollah command centres in Beirut were targeted in a wave of overnight airstrikes.
Included among the targets was a command centre affiliated with Hezbollah’s aerial forces, which is accountable for drone strikes on Israel, as stated by the IDF.
“The targeted command centres were meant to be utilised by Hezbollah to facilitate and execute multiple terrorist operations against IDF personnel and Israeli citizens,” the military claims.
Prior to the attacks, the IDF released evacuation alerts for Lebanese civilians in the vicinity.(Agency)
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