Israel declares ending Hezbollah attacks is now a war aim

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that Stop Hezbollah attacks in the north of the country Allowing residents to return to their homes has now become an official war aim, as a broader military operation in Lebanon is considered that could spark a full-scale conflict.

Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to carry out tougher military strikes to stop the almost daily attacks that began shortly after the outbreak of the the almost year-long war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza StripIn response, Israel has carried out regular air strikes on Lebanon, attacking and killing high-ranking Hezbollah commanders.

Just last month It seemed as if a full-blown war was imminent.

The Israeli security cabinet statement on Tuesday signaled a tougher stance at a time when Israeli leaders have been ratcheting up their warnings. But it also appeared to be largely symbolic and may not herald an immediate change in policy.

The attacks have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah has said it will stop the attacks if there is a ceasefire in Gaza, but those talks kept getting stuck.

The United States urged restraint, although it hasty military aid to Israeland warned his close ally that he would not achieve his goals with a major war.

Israeli media meanwhile reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replacing him with Gideon Saar, the leader of a small right-wing party considered more belligerent. This would be the biggest leadership change in Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack sparked the war in Gaza and further increased regional tensions.

The announcement on Lebanon came after Israel's security cabinet met late into the night. It said the cabinet had “updated the objectives of the war” to include the safe return of northern residents to their homes.

“Israel will continue to work to achieve this goal,” it said.

US envoy Amos Hochstein, who has made several trips to Lebanon and Israel as part of his efforts to ease tensions, met with Netanyahu on Monday.

A U.S. official who spoke about the private talks on condition of anonymity told Hochstein to Netanyahu that escalating the conflict with Hezbollah would not help Israelis evacuated from the border area return to their homes.

Hochstein argued, according to the official, that Netanyahu risks sparking a broad and protracted regional conflict by pushing for a full-scale war in Lebanon, and said the Biden administration remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution in conjunction with a ceasefire in Gaza or on its own.

Netanyahu told Hochstein that residents could not return without “a fundamental change in the security situation in the north,” according to a statement from the prime minister's office. It said that while Netanyahu “appreciates and respects” U.S. support, Israel “will do whatever is necessary to ensure its security.”

Defense Secretary Gallant, meanwhile, said the focus of the conflict is shifting from the Gaza Strip to northern Israel. He told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week that he was running out of time to reach an agreement with Hezbollah, saying: “The direction is clear.”

Hezbollah has stated that while it does not want a major war, it is prepared for one.

Raed Berro, a member of the Hezbollah bloc in the Lebanese parliament, said on Monday that the militant group was “ready for confrontation and has a lot in its pocket to deter the enemy and protect Lebanon if Netanyahu considers expanding the war.”

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close political ally of Hezbollah, largely dismissed the warnings, telling a local newspaper that Lebanese had become accustomed to “increasing Israeli threats … even if their tone has become louder recently.”

The war in Gaza began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and take another 250 hostagesThe militants still hold about 100 prisoners, a third of whom are believed dead, after releasing most of the rest in a ceasefire last year.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed over 41,000 Palestinians in the area since October 7said the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate Although the government took into account the difference between fighters and civilians in its count, it says that just over half of those killed were women and children.

Iran supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups in the regionwho have carried out attacks on Israeli and US targets in solidarity with the Palestinians. A missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday triggered air raid sirens in central Israel without causing casualties. Israel has indicated a military response.

Israel and Iran in April for the first time directly against each otherand Iran threatened revenge the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Tehran in July. Blame for the targeted killing was widely attributed to Israel, which has not commented on its involvement.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent most of this year trying to reach an agreement that would see Hamas release the hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinians detained by Israel.

President Joe Biden approved the framework of the agreement in May and the UN Security Council endorsed it a few days later. But since then, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of new and unacceptable demandsand the talks seem to be at an impasse.

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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

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