Other Middle East terrorist groups, such as the Taliban and Hezbollah, may join the ongoing Palestinian attack on Israel, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul warned Sunday.
Asked whether the war between the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel that broke out Saturday could turn into a “full-blown war,” McCaul (R-Texas) said he was concerned.
“I have seen signs that the Taliban want to come to liberate Jerusalem, in their words, to fight the Zionists. That’s very concerning,” McCaul told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Host Dana Bash named both the Taliban and Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist groups in her question.
Although the area controlled by the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, is mired in extreme poverty and geographically separated by nations east of Israel such as Syria, Iraq and Iran, McCaul did not rule out the possibility of involvement.
McCaul’s panel has been firmly focused on investigating the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover of Afghanistan.
He is also concerned about Hezbollah, which has more than 100,000 rockets with firepower aimed at Israel’s north in Lebanon, he said.
Michael McCaul expressed frustration with the Republican Party infighting that has paralyzed the House. Getty Images for The Recording Academy
“As things stand now, Israeli military capacity far exceeds Hamas. And they can take care of this problem. But it will take time to go house to house” to eradicate the enemy and secure Israel’s territory, McCaul said.
“But if this turns into a larger jihadist war against the Zionists, so to speak, that’s what always keeps me up at night.”
There have already been skirmishes between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, amplifying concerns about a two-front war. Hezbollah is aligned with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip located near Israel’s western coast.
A Hezbollah supporter holds a Palestinian flag during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. AP
Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday, which came a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, caught Israel’s intelligence and defense forces by surprise.
In response, Israel’s cabinet invoked Article 40 Aleph, marking the nation’s first formally declared war since 1973.
McCaul has been a strong supporter of Israel and blamed Iran for the historic violence unfolding in the Jewish state.
At the moment, the House of Representatives is being overseen by Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) due to the sensational impeachment of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week.
“It’s not ideal. It was not my idea to remove the speaker,” McCaul acknowledged.
Fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah conduct a training exercise in the village of Aaramta in Jezzine district, southern Lebanon, Sunday, May 21, 2023.AP
“I thought it was dangerous,” he said. “I look at the world and all the threats that exist, and what kind of message are we sending to our adversaries?”
McCaul noted that $3.3 billion in foreign military funding is available to the Biden administration as it responds to growing crises ravaging half a world away.
The Texas congressman stressed the need to appoint a full president next week for the House of Representatives to introduce legislation condemning the attack on Israel and potentially adequate funding to replenish its Iron Dome defense system.
House Republicans plan to hold a candidate forum on Tuesday, followed by a vote to elect the president on Wednesday.
The two leading contenders for the top spot are Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). McCaul refused to endorse one of them.
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