Amid rising Israeli threats against Hezbollah, former member of the Israeli War Council Benny Gantz declared that it is time for Israel to deal with the situation in the north of the country in the face of the Lebanese Hezbollah, calling for confronting Iran.

Gantz, who participated in a discussion forum on the Middle East in the US capital, said yesterday, Sunday, "The clock of the north has struck, and in fact I think we are late at this point."

He also said that Tel Aviv “made a mistake” by evacuating so many people from the north of the country after the Hamas attack on October 7.

“I believed for many months that we had enough forces to deal with Gaza, and that we should focus on what is happening in the north,” said Gantz, a former army chief and leader of the centrist National Union party who served in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the Hamas attack and was later dissolved.

“We have reached a critical point in Gaza, and we can do whatever we want,” he added, as the IDF continues its operations there pending a ceasefire agreement with Hamas

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (archive - Reuters)

Benny Gantz (archive - Reuters)

Gantz: The clock has struck in the north and we may strike Lebanon if necessary

Israel

Lebanon

Dubai - Al Arabiya.net

Published on: September 09, 2024: 07:36 AM GST

Last update: September 09, 2024: 08:17 AM GST

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Amid the rise in the level of Israeli threats against Hezbollah, former member of the Israeli War Council Benny Gantz announced that it is time for Israel to deal with the situation in the north of the country in the face of the Lebanese Hezbollah, calling for confronting Iran.

"The clock has struck in the north, and I actually think we are late at this point," Gantz, who was taking part in a Middle East discussion forum in the US capital, said on Sunday.

"I made a mistake"

He also said that Tel Aviv "made a mistake" in evacuating so many people from the north of the country after the Hamas attack on October 7.

"I believed for many months that we had enough forces to deal with Gaza, and that we should focus on what is happening in the north of the country," added Gantz, a former army chief and leader of the centrist National Union party, who was part of the war cabinet formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Hamas attack and was later dissolved.

"We have reached a critical point in Gaza, and we can do whatever we want," he added, as the IDF continues its operations there pending a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

An Israeli soldier on the Lebanese-Israeli border (archive - Reuters)

An Israeli soldier on the Lebanese-Israeli border (archive - Reuters)

Lebanon strike

He also believed that if the Israeli government could not reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of prisoners in the coming days or weeks, it should go north.

He continued, "I don't think we need to wait any longer, we have the ability to do so," including "strike Lebanon if necessary," according to what was reported by France Presse.

He considered that "the real issue is Iran," saying, "Hamas is an old story, but the issue of Iran and its agents throughout the region and what they are trying to do is the real issue."

These statements came after a similar position issued yesterday, Sunday, by Netanyahu, saying that he had instructed the army to change the situation in northern Israel on the border with Lebanon.

In turn, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed that the Israeli army will increase its preparations and measures to confront Iranian attempts to spread terrorism, whether in the West Bank or northern Israel.

Thousands of Israelis were forced to flee the north, while Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchange fire almost daily on the Israeli-Lebanese border since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas on October 7.

Meanwhile, the confrontations on both sides of the border have killed at least 610 people in Lebanon, including 394 Hezbollah members and 135 civilians, according to Agence France-Presse.

It has also forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to leave their homes and flee the south to escape the bombing.

In Israel, the authorities have counted the deaths of 24 soldiers and at least 26 civilians, including 12 killed in the occupied Syrian Golan.