Yes. There are some politicians quoted with ethnic cleansing, borderline genocidal intent. They're called extremists, every country has them. They don't call the shots.
Kind of different from a popular government that prepares for years and executes a massacre
You have quotes from Yoav Gallant (then Minister of defense) like "I am saying here to the citizens of Lebanon, I already see the citizens in Gaza walking with white flags along the coast... If Hezbollah makes mistakes of this kind, the ones who will pay the price are first of all the citizens of Lebanon. What we are doing in Gaza, we know how to do in Beirut.".
You have quotes from Isaac Herzog, President, like “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true. They could’ve risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime.” .
The ones from Netanyahu are somewhat more metaphorical/veiled, but for example "You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible", which is a reference to a passage in Deuteronomy where the Israelites are instructed by their god to "blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven".
While all of these people are extremists, they are also in charge of the country.
And... what's the problem with Gallant's statement? Where's any calls to the genocide in it?
It says that if Hezballah chooses to fight the same way Hamas is fighting (i.e. by hiding behind civilians, occupying civilian infrastructure) then the civilian death are going to be high. This warning is very much warranted because that's exactly how Hezballah fights (by putting their ammo stockpiles in civilian infrastructure, by launching rockets from civilian areas etc.) I.e. in other words, it's saying to Hezballah that if they think that hiding behind civilians will give them any kind of tactical advantage, they may forget about that.
The message is not addressed to Hezbollah, it is addressed to the citizens of Lebanon. It is a threat against the civilians in an entire country: Israel is going to kill you the way we are killing the people of Gaza, unless you yourselves take some steps to distance yourselves from them.
Imagine what outcry there would be if Iran came out and said the same thing, warning the civilians of Israel to distance themselves from the IDF, lest they become collateral damage.
Yes, it is addressed to the citizens of Lebanon... why would you think this is a necessary detail to clarify?
It is a threat, alright, but it's only realistic to say that if Hezballah is where it is, then these citizens of Lebanon are held hostages by Hezballah, so they shouldn't have any illusions about what is going to happen.
But no, it's not Israel who is going to kill them. It's Hezballah. Metaphorically, Israel is the train coming to the platform, while Hezballah is the guy who pushes the other guy on the tracks as the train approaches. Citizens of Lebanon being killed in this way have to thank Hezballa for their fate. This is the point of the message.
In the trolley problem, the IDF chose to direct the trolley towards the Lebanese citizens in order to spare the Israeli citizens, and this is what it's telling them. Hezballa is the guys pushing the trolley.
> Imagine what outcry there would be if Iran
Iran are scumbags who say plenty of much worse stuff on regular basis. Nobody would notice this particular statement because that'd be just Tuesday by Iranian standards. There'd be no outcry because people get used to the way things are, even if things are bad.
> why would you think this is a necessary detail to clarify?
Because it makes it a threat against the civilian population of a country.
> But no, it's not Israel who is going to kill them. It's Hezballah. Metaphorically, Israel is the train coming to the platform, while Hezballah is the guy who pushes the other guy on the tracks as the train approaches. Citizens of Lebanon being killed in this way have to thank Hezballa for their fate. This is the point of the message.
This is a completely silly argument. The people bombing you are the people killing you. That they claim to have some higher purpose is irrelevant. Hezbollah at best presents a minor threat to civilians in Israel, claiming that they are an existential threat that would justify scorching the civilian population of an entire country is ludicrous.
Let's also not forget that Hezbollah itself was formed as a defense force trying (and eventually succeeding) to drive out the Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanon. So, by your own logic (that I don't share), we should say that it's "actually" Israel who is responsible for all of the deaths that Hezbollah caused, since Hezbollah's formation is a consequence of Israel's previous attack on Lebanon. It's like a trolley problem: Hezbollah chose to direct the trolley at Israeli soldiers and citizens in order to free the Lebanese tied to the tracks - but it was the IDF pushing that trolley in the first place.
