TOI staff
Times of Israel, Sept. 17, 2024
“Israel is gearing up for a major military operation in Lebanon, though not an all-out attack.”
The security cabinet has updated its official goals for the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza to include the objective of allowing residents of the north to return safely to their homes after being displaced by attacks by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Tuesday.
“The safe return of the residents of the north to their homes” has now been added as a fourth objective to the war, the PMO said in a statement.
“Israel will continue to act to achieve this goal,” the statement said following a late-night meeting of the security cabinet in Tel Aviv.
Until now the declared goals of the war, which erupted with the devastating October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, were threefold: the elimination of the Palestinian terror group’s military and governing capabilities, the return of all the hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
The cabinet motion came more than 11 months after tens of thousands of northern residents were displaced from their homes when Hezbollah began attacking following the Hamas assault, saying it was doing so in support of Gaza. Residents were largely put up in hotels in other areas of the country, paid for by the state.
Israel has increasingly threatened to launch a major operation to push Hezbollah northward, away from the border, and the change to the stated war goals came as US special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel in an attempt to reach a diplomatic solution and avoid further escalation.
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