Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday expanded the country’s goals for the war in Gaza, vowing to allow Israelis who fled areas near the Lebanon border to return to their homes.
Violent exchanges on the border have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides from their homes.
“The political-security cabinet updated the goals of the war this evening, so that they include the following section: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement released early Tuesday.
This shift in the declared objectives of the conflict coincided with the arrival of Amos Hochstein, the US special envoy, in Israel. Hochstein’s visit aimed to explore diplomatic avenues for resolution and prevent any further escalation of tensions.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the visiting US envoy that “military action” was the “only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities”.
During a “security assessment” meeting held in Tel Aviv, Sunday, the head of the Israeli military’s Northern Command, Major General Uri Gordin, requested permission for the military to “occupy a security buffer zone in southern Lebanon.”
Hezbollah officials have said the group would stand down if a Gaza ceasefire were reached, but Gallant warned time was “running out”.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it was readying for further war, with assistance from fighters and support from across the region.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said Saturday his group has “no intention of going to war”, but if Israel does “unleash” one “there will be large losses on both sides”.
In a letter to the group’s Yemeni allies, whose maritime attacks have disrupted global shipping, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar said: “We have prepared ourselves to fight a long war of attrition.”
Blinken in Egypt
While months of mediated negotiations and shuttle diplomacy have failed to pin down a truce, Washington said it was still pushing all sides to finalize an agreement.
To bridge the remaining gaps, the United States is working “expeditiously” on a new proposal, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that the deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
With AFP
