Israel has a new war target, adding to growing signs that the conflict could soon expand to the north of the country, as it warned the United States that “military action” would likely be the only way to deal with the growing hostilities. with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
With fears of a wider regional war growing, Israel’s internal security agency, or Shin Bet, said on Tuesday it had foiled a plot by Hezbollah to kill a senior official in the Israeli security establishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced late Monday that the security cabinet had updated its list of war objectives to include the safe return of residents who were displaced from their homes near the Israel’s northern border with Lebanon because of months of fighting with Hezbollah.
“Israel will continue to act to implement this goal,” the prime minister’s office said.
In a meeting the same day with Amos Hochstein, a former adviser to President Joe Biden, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the only way to achieve this goal was “via military action.”
Gallant sought to emphasize that the possibility of an agreement to avoid escalation with Hezbollah was over because the militant group continues to “link itself” to Hamas, his office said in a statement.
He added that the defense minister and a number of other senior Israel Defense Forces officials “presented the IDF’s operations against Hezbollah forces” to Hochstein.
Gallant’s warning came as the defense minister himself appeared to face growing pressure to adopt a tougher stance on Israel’s approach in the north, as media speculation that Netanyahu was aiming to dismiss him amid criticism from the right-wing ministers on whom his fragile coalition is based.
“For several months I have called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to remove Gallant, and the time has come to do so immediately,” right-wing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a post on X on Monday. “A decision needs to be made in the north and Gallant is not the right man to lead it.
Reports from Israeli media suggested that Netanyahu had considered replacing Gallant with New Hope president Gideon Sa’ar, a staunch critic of the government’s handling of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. But the prime minister’s office told NBC News in a statement Monday that reports of any negotiations with Sa’ar were “not correct”.
An Israeli official told NBC News that one obstacle in a potential deal with Sa’ar was the opposition of Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is “clear that the drums of war are beating” towards a wider regional conflict as Netanyahu “faces increasing pressure from his coalition partners and center-right supporters to restore calm in the northern region,” he said. former Israeli intelligence officer and negotiator Avi Melamed analysis shared with NBC News.
The United States has repeatedly expressed fears that an expanded military operation by its ally could spark a wider regional war.
The Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, warned of the “devastating consequences that the escalation would have on the people of Israel, Lebanon and the wider region” in a call with Gallant on Sunday, according to a Pentagon. reading.
On Tuesday, the Shin Bet said it had prevented an attack targeting a senior official in Israel’s security establishment that was “planned to be carried out in the coming days.”
He did not identify the former official by name, but said agents discovered a Claymore explosive device equipped with a remote activation mechanism, with a camera and cellular technology, which he said could allow it to be activated by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
Hezbollah did not immediately respond to the accusation, and NBC News has not independently verified the claims.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded regular attacks that have seen thousands of people displaced on both sides of the border since the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas terror attacks on October 7, in which the Israeli officials said that about 1200 people were killed and about 250. taken hostage.
More than 41,000 people have been killed, with thousands more injured, during Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave, according to local health officials.
United Nations human rights experts on Monday condemned Western nations for continuing to support Israel.
“The suffering is unimaginable and the world continues to remain silent,” said Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Egypt as the US tries to keep alive hopes of a ceasefire deal. But Washington expressed public frustration with the conduct of its close ally, pointing to Israeli strikes on schools and humanitarian workers in Gaza.
“The IDF is a professional military and knows very well how to make sure that incidents like these do not happen,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.