Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the intense phase of the Israeli operations in Gaza will end “very soon.” However, he said that Tel Aviv was not moving off its war footing and would redeploy its forces to the northern border to fight Hezbollah.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 News, Netanyahu explained how Tel Aviv plans to manage its multifront war. In regard to Gaza, he said major operations would end sometime in the near future, but stressed he is “not willing to end the war and leave Hamas as it is.”
Once operations are scaled back in Gaza, Netanyahu stated he would redeploy Israel’s military forces to its northern border. “After the intense phase is finished, we will have the possibility to move part of the forces north. And we will do this, first and foremost, for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our (evacuated) residents’ home,” he told the outlet. “If we can, we will do this diplomatically. If not, we will do it another way. But we will bring (the residents) home.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is traveling to Washington to discuss Israel’s wars with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. American officials sought to prevent a wider war from breaking out between Israel and Hezbollah, but tit-for-tat strikes have continued to escalate.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown warned that Iran could get involved if Israel and Hezbollah engage in a major war. Tehran “would be more inclined to support Hezbollah,” he said, adding, “particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened.”
Over the past eight months, Israel has ruthlessly bombed Gaza daily, killing more than 37,000 Palestinians. The IDF has dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on the Strip, destroying most of the territory’s civilian infrastructure while forcing nearly all Palestinians to flee their homes. The scale of the destruction has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis, with nearly one million people facing famine.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
