WATCH — Netanyahu Speaks Directly to Lebanese People: ‘Israel’s War Is Not with You. It’s with Hezbollah’

Israeli Prime Minister posted a video message to the people of Lebanon on Monday, telling them that Israel’s war was not with them, but with Iranian-backed Hezbollah, and that they should avoid conflict areas until the war is over.

It is the first time Netanyahu has spoken directly to the Lebanese people.

The transcript is as follows:

I have a message for the people of Lebanon:

Israel’s war is not with you.

It’s with Hezbollah.

For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens.

To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out those weapons.

Starting this morning, the IDF has warned you to get out of harm’s way.

I urge you – take this warning seriously. Don’t let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Don’t let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon.

Please, get out of harm’s way now.

Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.

Netanyahu spoke hours after the Israel Defense Force (IDF) warned those civilians in southern Lebanon who had Hezbollah weapons in their homes to move as far away as possible, as Israel would be targeting the weapons.

Israel has not yet said that it is engaged in all-out war against Hezbollah, or that it intends to destroy the terror group, but it has escalated its military campaign and intends to push Hezbollah away from the border so that residents of the northern area of Israel who have been threatened by rocket fired can return to their homes and live in peace again.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.