TEL AVIV, February 2. /TASS/. Tel Aviv will not stop targeting facilities belonging to the Shiite organization Hezbollah in Lebanon even if there is a new agreement on a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
"If Hezbollah thinks that when there is a ceasefire in the south it will hold fire and we’ll stop [on the Israeli-Lebanese border], it’s making a big mistake," the minister said during his trip to a military unit on Mount Hermon, as quoted by The Times of Israel newspaper.
Gallant warned that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not stop until security was restored in the northern border areas.
"I say here explicitly: Until we reach a situation in which it’s possible to restore security for residents of the north, we will not stop. When get reach this through a [diplomatic] arrangement or military means, we can be calm," he added.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and over 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.
Tensions are high along Israel’s northern border, as it is regularly shelled from Lebanon with the IDF returning fire. According to the IDF press service, Hezbollah facilities are targeted. More than 80,000 Israelis have been evacuated from those border areas.