The IDF is prepared military action against Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit Wednesday morning to the northern border.
“Whoever thinks that he will hurt us and that we will then sit idly by is making a big mistake,” Netanyahu said.
“We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north,” he stressed.
He during a visit to the northern city of Kiryat Shmona after firefighters battled blazes along the northern border that had been set off by rockets Hezbollah had launched at Israel from Lebanon.
“Yesterday the ground was on fire here,” he said, “but the ground was also burning in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu visits as gov’t criticized for failing North
Netanyahu’s visit came amid intense political and public criticism for his failure to restore security to the northern borders where tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated on October 7 have yet to be able to safely return home.
As the Gaza war is winding down in the south, attention has turned to the escalating cross-border violence with Hezbollah. The war cabinet met on Tuesday night to discuss the matter.
IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzl Halevi said the army was ready to move to an offensive in the north.
“We are prepared after a very good process of training up to the level of a General Staff exercise to move to an offensive in the north,” he said in a recorded statement, adding, “We are approaching a decision point.”
The government is expected to discuss the possible call-up of additional reserves in light of the escalation in the North.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem told broadcaster Al Jazeera that the group’s decision was not to widen the war but that it would fight one if it was imposed on it. Qassem said the Lebanon front would not stop until the Gaza war stops, Al Jazeera quoted him as saying.
The US has pushed for a diplomatic resolution to the cross-border violence but has believed that calm must be restored in Gaza, in order for such efforts to be successful.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “We’ve heard Israeli leaders say the solution that they prefer is a diplomatic solution. And obviously, that is the solution that we prefer too, and that we’re trying to pursue.”
The European Union said it was “increasingly concerned” about rising tensions and forced displacement of civilians on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border and called for restraint from all sides.
“Nobody stands to win from a broader regional conflict,” the EU said in a statement. “A de-escalation of the situation would significantly contribute to the settlement of the broader conflict in the Middle East.”
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said the fighting in the area was “not a sustainable reality,” adding that Israel was committed to returning the evacuees to their homes in the north.
“It is up to Hezbollah to decide if this can be accomplished by diplomatic means or by force,” he said. “We are defending this country, and no one should be surprised by our response.”
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