'We Fear Significant Civilian Costs': US Lawmakers Call on UN to Confront Hezbollah's Threats Against Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel - Democrat and Republican lawmakers are joining together to call attention to the deadly threat of Hezbollah on Israel's doorstep in the north. 

Members from the US House of Representatives sent a bipartisan letter to the United Nations Secretary General to voice their concern about Hezbollah's actions against Israel. 

The letter points out several violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls on the Lebanese Government to extend sovereignty over the entire country and to disarm "all armed groups in Lebanon, so that…there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State."

The Lebanese government has failed to disarm Hezbollah. Instead, the Iranian-backed terror group has acquired and threatened Israel with advanced weapons of war and poses a serious security threat to the Jewish State.

"Hezbollah has built a murderous capability aimed at Israel's civilian population," the letter reads. "In the thirteen years since the unanimous passage of the Security Council resolution, Hezbollah, with the assistance of Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, has amassed a deadly arsenal of about 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel."

"Iran is currently exacerbating this threat by transferring precision guided munitions to Hezbollah and building munitions factories in Lebanon for the benefit of the internationally-recognized terrorist organization," the letter continues. 

In September, Hezbollah launched a missile strike against IDF vehicles near the Lebanese border. No one was injured in the strike but it had the potential to spark a war between Israel and Hezbollah. 

The terror group has also spent millions of dollars developing underground tunnels to allow terrorists to enter Israeli towns to attack civilians. 

The letter calls on the UN to fulfill its commitment to contain Hezbollah with the help of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 

The letter, authored by Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Michael Waltz (R-FL), urges the UN General Secretary "to lead an international effort to limit Hezbollah's capabilities and to avoid the devastating but avoidable outcome of which you have previously warned."

"We fear significant civilian costs in Lebanon if Israel must act to defend its citizens because Hezbollah
has positioned its massive arsenal in civilian areas – turning much of Lebanon's population into
human shields. Hezbollah will bear the responsibility for that, as will the Government of
Lebanon and the international community."