Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops and firefighters in the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the country prepares for war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles since October, after Hamas launched terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel has responded in a limited way, striking the source of the attacks.
Hezbollah-fired bullets killed soldiers and civilians, prompting Israel to launch attacks that killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters. Attacks have escalated on both sides of the border in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles into Israel, most of which fell in open areas and sparked fires in the countryside, forcing Israel to launch a massive firefighting operation.
GALILEE, ISRAEL – JUNE 2, 2024: Smoke rises from a fire caused by a rocket fired by Lebanese Hezbollah in Galilee, Israel. Israel-based news site Ynet reported that 14 teams had been battling the fire in the mountainous region of the Upper Galilee region in the north of the country for five hours. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The fire has caused concern among Israelis.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the IDF’s Gibor Base in Kiryat Shmona this morning (Wednesday, June 5, 2024) and was briefed by 769th Brigade Commander Avraham Marciano and Northern Command Homefront Coordinator Brigadier General Alon Friedman (Ret.) on the operational situation, recent events in the region, defensive battle management, and measures being taken to protect northern communities and residents. He was also presented with the Brigade and Northern Command’s actions against Hezbollah terrorists and Lebanese infrastructure.
The Prime Minister then visited monitoring points in the city and met with firefighters and emergency response teams working in the area, and was briefed on the recent wildfires, the extensive firefighting efforts, and the close cooperation between the IDF and the Fire and Rescue Services to put out the blazes.
Prime Minister Netanyahu [translated from Hebrew]:
“We said at the start of the war that we would restore security in both the South and the North, and that is what we are doing now.”
Today, I am here with our heroic warriors, our commanders, and our firefighters on the northern border. Yesterday, the ground was burning here, and I’m glad you put it out. But the ground was burning in Lebanon.
Anyone who thinks they can hurt us and that we will respond without doing anything is making a huge mistake.
We are prepared to take very violent action in the North. One way or another, we will restore security to the North.”
The prime minister was accompanied by his chief of staff, Tsaki Braverman, and military chief, Major General Roman Govman.
Netanyahu was immediately criticized for not meeting with the mayor of Kiryat Shmona. The prime minister’s office said he did not meet with any civilians.
Kiryat Shmona and other towns near the Lebanese border have been largely evacuated since October, and when Breitbart News visited the town in November, it was largely deserted, though a felafel stand near the store where the rocket hit was still open.
A burned and smashed store in Kiryat Shmona after being hit by a Hezbollah rocket on November 12, 2023. (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
Polls show that Israelis overwhelmingly support a war to drive Hezbollah away from the border because UN Security Council Resolution 1707, which prohibits Hezbollah from entering the border, has not been implemented.
The Biden administration has openly opposed the war between Israel and Hezbollah and is seeking to use ceasefire negotiations in Gaza to create an atmosphere of calm, assuming it will ease tensions in the north and allow residents to return home.
The U.S. position fails to take into account Israeli concerns that Hezbollah’s presence on the border after October 7 would make local communities vulnerable to the kind of attacks launched by Hamas, but on a larger scale.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
