Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Helj Halevi warned on Wednesday that war with Hezbollah in Lebanon is closer than ever.
Halevi spoke while observing a training session for reservists along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
Halevi said (via IDF translation):
Training has always been very important, but I think it's even more important now. We are at a time of increased readiness for combat in Lebanon. We have learned many lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to the fighting in Lebanon, and some of which we must adapt. We want to achieve very clear goals in Lebanon. It's about bringing the people back to the north, all the communities in the north. We understand that this requires significant change.
We don't know when a war in the north will break out, but we can say that the chances of it breaking out in the next few months are much higher than in the past, and I think we're going to go to war with a lot of people. Masu. Additional benefits: victory, our confidence, their confidence is decreasing, more experience, abilities, surprises we create, progress. All that remains is serious training, the strong spirit of our people, and pushing forward with all our might when necessary.
Hezbollah has carried out sporadic rocket and missile attacks against Israel since October in a symbolic show of solidarity with the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, but like Hezbollah, Hamas is armed, trained, and Funded.
As a result, several Israelis were killed, including two civilians killed last week. Last month, Hezbollah damaged a church and injured its guard and an Israeli Defense Forces member who came to assist the wounded guard.
Israel fought back when attacked, but it did not lead to an all-out war. The situation could change as Hezbollah has shown no desire to move its troops outside its borders, north of the Litani River, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1707. Tens of thousands of Israeli residents have fled border towns and will not return until the border is secure.
Israeli Defense Force tanks near the Lebanese border, November 2023 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
The United States, through President Joe Biden's special envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, is trying to broker a political solution, although this may not be possible.
It has become clear that there are differences between Israel and the Biden administration over the future of Lebanon and Gaza, which Biden wants to incorporate into a Palestinian state.
Asked earlier Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, for a reaction to Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments that a Palestinian state is a precondition for peace, Israeli government spokesman Eitan Raoul said: “This is a long-term political issue. '' did not go into detail.
He added: “If there's one thing we all have in common, from left to right, it's that whatever our vision of peace is, there can be no room for Hamas.”
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He published his 2021 e-book “The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)' has been updated and a new preface has been added. He is also the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
