Defence minister says focus shifts north as Israel war enters new phase

19/9/2024 5:47

        Israeli Prime Minister
        Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return tens of
        thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas to
        their homes, amid mounting tensions with the Iranian-backed
        Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
        
        In a brief video statement, Netanyahu made no mention of the
        operation that remotely detonated thousands of pagers and
        hand-held radio devices used by operatives of Hezbollah, which
        has blamed the attack on Israel.
        
        "We will return the residents of the north securely
        to their homes," he said in a brief video statement, giving no
        further details.
        
        In separate remarks, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said more
        forces were being sent to the northern border, where Israel has
        been exchanging daily fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah for
        months, as the war moved into a new phase.
        
        "The 'centre of gravity' is moving north, meaning that we
        are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern
        arena," he said in remarks released by his office.
        
        The comments, which echo similar remarks by numerous
        senior Israeli politicians and military commanders over recent
        weeks, come as Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter said
        the army had moved its 98th Division, which includes commando
        and paratrooper formations, from Gaza to the north.
        
        Israeli officials have not commented on the attacks on the
        Hezbollah communications devices over the past two days, which
        have killed more than 20 people and wounded thousands, but
        security sources have said Israel's spy agency Mossad was
        responsible.
        
        The operations, which have appeared to throw Hezbollah
        into disarray, have heightened fears of an escalation in the
        fighting along Israel's border with southern Lebanon with the
        risk of a full-blown regional war.
        
        The fighting along the northern border has been going on
        for almost a year in the shadow of the war in Gaza, which began
        last year with the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Islamist
        movement Hamas. The day after Hamas gunmen stormed through
        communities in southern Israel, Hezbollah launched a barrage in
        the north and there has been a near-daily exchange of fire
        between the two sides without ever tipping over into all-out
        war.
        
        On Wednesday, Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi
        held an assessment with commanders in the northern sector and
        approved defensive and offensive plans in the sector.
        
        "We still have many capabilities that we have not yet
        activated," he said in remarks to commanders that were released
        by the military.
        
        "The rule is that every time we work on a certain stage,
        the next two stages are already ready to advance. At each stage,
        the price for Hezbollah must be high."