Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday (18), in his first statements since the beginning of the wave of explosions of Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon, that Israel “will return the residents of the north to their homes”.
“I have already said that we will return the residents of the north (of Israel) safely to their homes and that is exactly what we will do,” Netanyahu said in a brief video message.
The message was released after a second wave of explosions in the neighboring country, this time involving walkie-talkies, which left nine dead and hundreds injured, after yesterday thousands of pagers belonging to members of the Shiite group exploded at the same time, killing 12 people and injuring more than 2,000, according to the Lebanese press.
Shortly before Netanyahu’s office released the video, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had already warned during a visit to Air Force troops that the country was moving into a “new phase” of the war in the Gaza Strip as it mobilizes more forces and resources to the border with Lebanon.
“I believe we are on the threshold of a new phase of this war and we need to adapt,” Gallant said during a visit to the Ramat David base in northern Israel.
In turn, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, met this Wednesday (18) with the person responsible for the Northern Command and approved “attack and defense plans” in that region of the country, in the midst of escalating tension, according to the Armed Forces in a statement.
“We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated,” the official said, adding that “in each phase, the next two phases are already prepared, and in each phase the price for Hezbollah will be high.”
Israel has not officially acknowledged responsibility for the explosions in Lebanon, but the Lebanese group has warned that there will be “severe punishment” for the country.
On Monday night, Israeli authorities decided to officially include the return of 60,000 displaced residents to their homes in the north of the country as part of the war aims.
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