Israel Katz warns Hezbollah it could lose more territory in southern Lebanon if it joins Iran in attacking Israel

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that Hezbollah would suffer a severe blow and lose additional territory in southern Lebanon if it joined Iran in an attack on Israel.

"If Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel, it will be dealt a heavy blow and lose additional territory in southern Lebanon, in the areas of Nabatieh and the Litani, which will become part of Israel's permanent security zone," Katz said during a visit to the IDF's buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

Katz said the Israeli military was prepared for a ground offensive and that Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, would also be evacuated and its infrastructure struck.

He said more than one million Shiites in Lebanon would be displaced in such a scenario.

Israel has maintained forces in parts of southern Lebanon since launching a major offensive against Hezbollah earlier this year, with hundreds of thousands of Lebanese already displaced during the fighting.