Washington — Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Sunday that his country “did not want this war” with Hezbollah and, ahead of Friday’s Israeli strikes that killed a senior commander of the terrorist group, “it is believed that they were planning an attack.”
“We didn’t want this war,” Herzog said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” We do not seek war. This war was waged against us by the proxies of the evil empire in Iran, on October 7 by Hamas and on October 8 by Hezbollah.”
The comments come after Israel and Lebanon traded heavy fire overnight, following a series of attacks against Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist group, in recent days. On Friday, an Israeli air raid in south Beirut, among others, killed a top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, in the deadliest targeting of the Lebanese capital since the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. And earlier this week, Hezbollah vowed retaliation after exploding devices killed dozens and injured thousands. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Herzog said Sunday that “the world must stand with” Israel.
“This is the real watershed in the world,” Herzog said. “The world must stop this. The world must stand with us. And the world must understand that we are fighting for the free world and we must bring our hostages home as soon as possible. This is humanity’s greatest predicament at this current stage.”
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas and Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah and Israel have regularly exchanged fire. But the attacks have largely taken place in less populated parts of Lebanon.
Herzog said Israel has been in a “vicious circle” with its adversaries since October 7, urging that “we want to get out of this vicious circle, and if we have no choice, then we are getting ready for escalation. ”
On a possible hostage deal, the Israeli president said they are not getting “any positive signs from Hamas” regarding the return of the 101 people held by Hamas, including four Americans. But he said the current crisis, which he called “boiling hot,” presents an “opportunity to move forward and change this situation by finding the right way out and bringing the hostages back home.”