Gallant warns of conflict

(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Wednesday of the potential outbreak of a wider conflict with Hezbollah, as the Iranian-backed terror group continued to launch rockets and drones at the Jewish state. 

Gallant made the comments during a situation assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi at the military’s Northern Command. 

“We are achieving readiness on land and in the air, strengthening our intelligence systems and preparing for every scenario,” said Gallant. “We must all remember that Hezbollah started a war against us on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas [attacked Israel], and since then, it has not stopped. We have an obligation to change the situation in the north, and to ensure the safe return of our citizens to their homes, and we will find a way to achieve this,” he added.

Gallant thanked the troops and IDF Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi for their determination in the conduct of the war to date. “They have conducted their missions in a professional, accurate and responsible manner, and this will continue to be the case even if we reach a reality in which the fighting will be on a different scale in the north,” he said.

Later on Wednesday, Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened an invasion during a televised address.

“An invasion of the Galilee remains on the table if the confrontation escalates,” Nasrallah proclaimed.

He warned that Israel, not Hezbollah, should be fearful and that nowhere in Israel would be safe in the case of a wider war. The terror group was not seeking such a war but would fight it with “no rules” and “no ceilings,” he said.

He added that the terror group would continue to support Hamas in Gaza until a “complete and permanent ceasefire” is in place.

Hezbollah has been pounding northern Israeli communities since joining the war in support of Hamas just one day after the Oct. 7 massacre. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from border communities, and Hezbollah rockets and drones have resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries, in addition to widespread physical destruction and of late, major fires, on the Israeli side.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern Command announced the approval of operational plans for a war against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

Following a two-day lull in hostilities, Hezbollah resumed its attacks on Tuesday afternoon, launching three “suspicious aerial targets” toward towns in the Upper Galilee, the IDF said.

Also on Tuesday, Hezbollah published video captured by a surveillance UAV of the Haifa Port, one of Israel’s most important commercial shipping gateways.