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Daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel have been destructive, disruptive and sometimes deadly. An escalation could risk starting a wider regional conflict.
- Sept. 18, 2024, 5:03 p.m. ET
Israel has not claimed responsibility for this week’s audacious attacks using booby-trapped wireless devices against members of Hezbollah, but the country’s prime minister and defense minister issued statements on Wednesday making it clear that the military’s focus was shifting from the war in the Gaza Strip, south of Israel, to Lebanon, where Hezbollah operates.
“The center of gravity is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena,” Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, said on Wednesday in an address to troops at an air base in northern Israel. “We are at the start of a new phase in the war.”
Mr. Gallant’s comments came just after Israel’s cabinet officially adopted a new, formal war goal this week: ensuring that tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel who have been displaced by attacks from Hezbollah can return safely to their homes.
Later on Wednesday, as the exploding-attacks continued, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a video statement emphasizing the same goal. “I already said that we would return the residents of the North securely to their homes, and that is exactly what we will do,” he said.
Hezbollah, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, has been targeting northern Israel with rockets and drones since last year in solidarity with Hamas and its war against Israel in Gaza. Both militant groups are supported by Iran and want to eliminate the state of Israel.
The daily exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel has been destructive, disruptive and sometimes deadly for Israelis and Lebanese living along the border, and it has raised concerns among world leaders that a wider regional war could break out and draw in Iran.
