TEL AVIV, September 23. /TASS/. The Israeli military is expanding its attacks in Lebanon, in the days ahead civilians need to show resilience and observe discipline, The Times of Israel newspaper reports, citing Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant during a meeting on the rear readiness for the expansion of combat operations.
"We are expanding our attacks in Lebanon, <...> and will continue do so [attack Lebanon] until our goal is reached and people of the North [of Israel] safely return to their homes. In the future there will be days when the public will have to show self-control, discipline, and full obedience to the orders of the rear commanders," said the military chief.
According to Galant, in the new phase of Israel's military campaign, in which the focus of the main effort is shifting from the Gaza Strip to Shiite movement Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, "further success depends on the correct behavior in the rear. The resilience of the rear is the key that enables the Israeli Defense Forces to fight, achieve success, and damage to enemy," he said.
"The difference between success and failure will depend on the readiness of citizens to enter well-protected spaces and other places [to hide from shelling] according to our instructions. It saves lives," the minister said.
Tensions flare up in the region
The situation in the Middle East became sharply aggravated on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages. The radicals called the attack was in response to the Israeli authorities' actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a complete blockade of Gaza and launched retaliatory strikes against it and parts of Lebanon and Syria before launching a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.
On this front, tensions began to rise on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Fire from Lebanon and its return from Israel has been unceasing there since October 8, 2024. According to the statements of the army press service, Hezbollah targets are being reached. From the border areas of Northern Israel, as many as 80,000 people were evacuated.
On September 16, Israel’s military-political cabinet officially declared the return of local residents evacuated from the northern areas as the fourth goal of Israel's military campaign, continuing from October 2023. Prior to that, it focused on the Gaza Strip and had three objectives: the liquidation of the military and governance capacity of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, the return of all hostages in the enclave, and the creation of conditions under which Gaza will never again threaten Israel.