Israel openly threatens Iran, says Hamas not the last proxy to be dismantled

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus has warned the "mullahs of Tehran" that the elimination of one of its proxies, Hamas, won't be the last one.

"I don't speak Farsi. But I hope the mullahs in Tehran get the message: we know where the funding, weapons, training and murderous ideology comes from, and we can sense your despair that we are dismantling one of your proxies (Hamas). It won't be the last one," Conricus said during an interview with VOA Farsi.

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah where they "reviewed the latest developments in Palestine, Lebanon and the region, and... the efforts made to end the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip".

The border between Lebanon and Israel has witnessed escalating exchanges of fire, involving Israel, Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Palestinian groups since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The exchanges of fire have sparked concerns of a broader conflict.

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Hezbollah claimed on Thursday to have launched 48 Katyusha rockets at a military base near Safed in northern Israel, approximately 10 kilometers from the border.

It said it also carried out at least 10 other attacks on Israeli positions near the frontier and claimed to have caused casualties.

In response, the Israeli army shelled several locations in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Hezbollah maintains that it has been supporting Hamas since the latter’s attacks on Israel began on October 7.

With inputs from agencies