Jotam Confino
16 September 2024 1:23pm
Israel has told the United States that hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Hezbollah are dwindling and a full-scale war is looming.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, informed Lloyd Austin, his American counterpart, on Monday, that the possibility for an “agreed framework in the northern arena” is running out.
Mr Gallant blamed Hezbollah’s ongoing position of “tying itself” to fellow Iran-backed terror group, Hamas.
“The trajectory is clear,” said Mr Gallant, indicating that Israel will have to go to war with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah to solve the daily rocket and drone attacks on its northern border.
At least 40 rockets were fired by Hezbollah at Israel on Sunday and, separately, several IDF soldiers were wounded in a drone explosion in the Golan Heights.
Mr Gallant has previously warned Hezbollah that Israel will turn Lebanon “back to the Stone Age” in the event of a full-fledged war.
His latest warning comes after Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, also implied that Israel would have to take further steps to allow the 60,000 internally displaced Israelis to return to their homes in the north.
“The current situation will not continue,” said Mr Netanyahu during Sunday’s cabinet meeting.
“This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”
The IDF and the Israeli defence ministry also made further preparations to defend the northern border, announcing on Monday that “civilian defence squads” in 97 communities close to Lebanon have been equipped with new arms and combat gear.
Communities in the Golan Heights are also set to be rearmed in the coming weeks, amounting to a total of 120 civil defence squads receiving new equipment.
The ministry said it purchased 9,000 Arad-type rifles at the cost of £10 million.
Meanwhile, unsanctioned leaflets with evacuation orders for civilians were dropped in the village of Wazzani in south Lebanon on Sunday, raising further fears of a major attack by Israel.
“To all residents and refugees living in the area of the camps, Hezbollah is firing from your region,” the leaflet read in Arabic according to AFP.
“You must immediately leave your homes and head north of the Khiam region before 4pm. Do not return to this area until the end of the war.
“Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist.”
The IDF later said the leaflets had not been authorised and an investigation into the incident had been opened.
Hezbollah began launching daily rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones at Israel on Oct 8 last year in support of Hamas’s war against Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has since said that the terror group will stop attacking Israel when a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.
But both Hamas and Israel have refused to give up on core demands in recent weeks, making the prospect of a ceasefire deal bleak.
The post Time running out for diplomatic solution to Hezbollah conflict, Israel tells US appeared first on The Telegraph.
