Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi warned Wednesday that war with Hezbollah in Lebanon is closer than ever before.
Halevi delivered remarks as he observed a training exercise among reserve soldiers along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Halevi said (via IDF translation):
Training has always been a very important thing, I think it is much more important now. We are in a time of increasing readiness for fighting in Lebanon. We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon, and there are some that must be adapted. We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon – this is to return the residents to the north, all of the communities in the north. We understand that this must come through a very significant change.
I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past, I can tell you that I think we are starting it with many more advantages: victory, our self-confidence, their confidence is decreasing, a lot of experience, capabilities, surprises to produce, progress made. What remains is to train seriously, a strong spirit of the people, and when we will need to, we will go forward at full strength.
Hezbollah has been launching sporadic rocket and missile attacks on Israel since October in a symbolic show of solidarity with the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which, like Hezbollah, is also armed, trained, and funded by Iran.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi talks with troops near the border with Lebanon, January 17, 2024 (IDF)
There have been several Israeli deaths as a result, including two civilians killed last week. Last month, Hezbollah damaged a church and wounded its guard, as well as IDF personnel who came to assist the wounded guard.
Israel has returned fire when attacked, but has not escalated to full war. That may change, as Hezbollah shows no willingness to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1707 and to move its forces off the border, north of the Litani River. Tens of thousands of Israeli residents have been evacuated from border towns, and will not return until the border is secure.
IDF tank near Lebanon border, November 2023 (Joel Pollak/Breitbart News)
The U.S., through President Joe Biden’s envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, is attempting to broker a political solution, though it may not be possible.
There are emerging differences between Israel and the Biden administration over Lebanon, as well as over the future of Gaza, which Biden wants to include in a Palestinian state.
Asked to react to remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos, Switzerland, earlier on Wednesday, in which he said a Palestinian state was a prerequisite for peace, Israeli government spokesman Eytan Laor declined to elaborate on “long-term political questions.
He added: “If there is one thing that is a matter of consensus, from left to right, it is that whatever our vision for peace, there can be no room for Hamas there.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the 2021 e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now updated with a new foreword. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
