Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Jerusalem will not halt its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon until the 60,000-plus evacuated Israelis can safely return to their homes in the north.
“I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing: We are determined to return our residents in the north to their homes safely,” he said in a video released by his office on Wednesday night.
“We are inflicting blows on Hezbollah that it could not imagine. We do it with power, and we do it with ruse. I promise you one thing—we will not rest until they come home,” the premier’s succinct statement added.
‘Putting your country in danger’
His remarks came amid reports that the Biden administration is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end the fighting in Lebanon and with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, connecting both war fronts as part of a single initiative.
The deal is currently being hammered out on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Reuters said, citing Lebanese officials, Western diplomats, a source briefed on the negotiations, and an expert source said to be “familiar with the thinking” of Hezbollah terrorists.
U.S. President Joe Biden told ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday morning that his administration believes that all-out war involving Iran’s terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East can still be prevented with a deal.
“An all-out war is possible, but I think there’s also the opportunity—we’re still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region,” he said, adding that there also needs to be a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The diplomatic talks came as Israeli military commanders revealed that the country was preparing for a possible ground invasion of Southern Lebanon to remove the threat posed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu had urged civilians in Lebanon to revolt against Hezbollah’s grip on the country while warning that the Jewish state will not hesitate to strike any infrastructure used by the terror organization.
Hezbollah is “putting your country in danger,” said Netanyahu, urging Lebanese to “free yourselves from Nasrallah’s grip, for your own good.”
The Israeli leader stated on Monday that the Israel Defense Forces is “changing the security balance, the balance of power in the north.
“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy,” the premier said following a situational assessment with senior security officials at IDF headquarters in central Tel Aviv. “We do not wait for a threat; we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every sector, at any time.
“We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets that are directed at Israel’s cities and citizens,” the Israeli leader said in the video recording.
