The head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, Maj.- Gen. Herzi Halevi, in a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Jerusalem this week, warned that Hezbollah is tightening its grip on Lebanon.

Citing serious and prolonged violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 by the terrorist group, Halevi called on Guterres to ensure that the UN is doing more to preserve peace, but also to prevent another war between Israel and Hezbollah,  The Jerusalem Post reported.

The IDF accused the terrorist organization numerous times in the past for violating the terms of the resolution, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and stipulates that there be no armed groups in Lebanon except for the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] and banned other nations from shipping weapons to any force other than the LAF.

Hezbollah and the LAF are fighting side by side against ISIS in northeastern Lebanon, further demonstrating the complete political and military control the Iranian-backed group exerts over its host country.

The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, accused the UNIFIL’s leadership for failing to endorse its mandate, while Hezbollah is preparing a new for war, “arming itself with more lethal and accurate weapons to harm the Israeli home front.” War preparations include the use of human shields, a war crime under international law.

During the meeting with Guterres, Halevi also briefed the Secretary General on the intelligence situation in various sectors, including Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and the Islamic Republic’s attempt to produce precision weapons for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“The consolidation of Iran and the Shi’ite axis in Syria and the strengthening of Hezbollah in Lebanon are two processes that could lead to an undesirable escalation in the northern front,” Halevi said.

[Photo: Adi Cohen Zedek/ Wikimedia]