Israel would trigger regional war with preemptive strike, require help from US: Israeli general

JERUSALEM

If Israel launches a preemptive strike against Hezbollah and Iran, it will trigger a regional war that Tel Aviv would be unable to fight effectively without US support, Israeli Reserve General Yitzhak Brik said Wednesday, the Hebrew Channel 12 reported.

Concerns are growing about the outbreak of a comprehensive regional war following Israel's assassination of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a suburb of Beirut on July 30 and the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran the next day in an attack attributed to Tel Aviv, despite it not claiming responsibility.

Iran and Hezbollah have vowed a "strong and effective" response to the assassinations while attempts are being made to calm the situation through regional contacts and moves.

Brik said that in recent days, some people have failed to understand the concerning condition of the Israeli army, suggesting that Iran and Hezbollah should be attacked preemptively before they strike Israel.

He expressed concern that those advocating for a preemptive strike fail to consider that such an action would immediately trigger a regional war.

Brik said that if Israel launches a preemptive war, its population centers, power stations, gas platforms, transportation infrastructure, industrial infrastructure and army bases will be subjected to daily attacks by thousands of missiles and drones.

He emphasized that the Israeli army does not have the capacity to respond to a regional war, neither in defending this national infrastructure nor in defeating Iran, Hezbollah and their proxies.

He added that some argue a preemptive strike could provide an advantage in an inevitable regional war.

However, Brik countered that a pre-emptive strike will certainly bring about a regional war, while the reactions of Iran and Hezbollah, if they are minor, “will not necessarily drag us into a regional war.”

He noted that the Israeli army alone lacks a winning strategy for a regional war, even if it starts with a preemptive strike, and thus requires US support.

Brik also emphasized that Israel's dependence on the US is crucial for its resilience in such a conflict.

He added that Israel cannot endure or win the war without US assistance.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul