The big question following two waves of attacks on Hezbollah communications devices in Lebanon, is the danger of escalation into a major war between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah, which blamed Israel for the pager detonations, said in a statement this morning that it would continue its normal strikes against Israel “as in all the past days,” as part of what it describes as a support front for its ally, Hamas, and Palestinians in Gaza, reported AP. “This path is continuous and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must await for its massacre on Tuesday [Sept. 17] that it committed against our people, our families and our fighters in Lebanon,” it said. “This is another reckoning that will come, God willing.”
Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, publicly threatened revenge after the second wave of explosions. “These attacks will certainly be uniquely punished; there will be a bloodily unique revenge,” said Safieddine. He said he “won’t talk about this at length” because “tomorrow, the leader of Hezbollah [Hasssan Nasrallah] will speak and all will be revealed. And we will be in a new situation and a new confrontation with this enemy.”
While Israel has not commented on the pager operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is trying to project an image of readiness for war in Israel’s north. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held an assessment this evening with the military’s top brass, “with an emphasis on readiness for attack and defense in all arenas,” the IDF said in a terse statement, reported Times of Israel. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later met with Halevi and other senior military officials, his office said in a statement that didn’t provide further details.
Gallant indicated today that Israel’s focus is turning north. “The center of gravity is moving north. We are diverting forces, resources, and energy toward the north,” he told to Israeli Air Force personnel at the Ramat David Airbase, reported the Times of Israel. “I believe that we are at the onset of a new phase in this war, and we need to adapt. We will need consistency over time, this war requires great courage, determination, and perseverance.”
ToI notes that earlier today, the IDF’s 98th Division was deployed to northern Israel, after fighting for months in the Gaza Strip.
As for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he reportedly told the security ministers on Sept. 12 that the conditions must be changed to allow tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from northern Israel to their homes. “The Israeli military must prepare for a large-scale campaign in Lebanon,” the prime minister told Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the closed-door meeting last Thursday.
Netanyahu vowed today, in a “cryptic” 10-second video, to get evacuated Israelis back into their homes. “I’ve already said, we will return residents of the north safely to their homes,” he said. “And that is exactly what we will do.”