As high temperatures continue to spread wildfires in northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, the Jewish state’s top general announced that the military is close to deciding on how to address the almost daily incursions.
“We are approaching the point where a decision will have to be made, and the IDF is prepared and very ready for this decision,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told Golani Brigade commanders while touring an army base in Kiryat Shmona Tuesday.
“We are prepared after a very good process of training—up to the level of a military exercise—to move to an attack in the north. Strong defense, readiness to attack, we are approaching a decision point,” he added.
The general’s comments come as the Israeli war cabinet was scheduled to meet later that evening to discuss the matter, and the IDF announced last week that they had finished a division-level operation that included a simulated invasion of southern Lebanon.
One of the cabinet members, Benny Gantz, said that the situation in the region needed to be dealt with either by military or negotiated means by the end of the summer.
The Lebanese al-Akhbar news outlet reported that Western diplomats have warned the government in Beirut to prepare for an Israeli offensive in the southern part of the country by mid-June.
Hezbollah’s deputy chief, Naim Qassem, told Al-Jazeera on Tuesday that his terror group is not looking to escalate the conflict, but if invaded, the IDF would be met “with devastation.”
The current hostilities in the region have not been this elevated since the 2006 war between Israel and the Tehran-backed organization.
Tens of thousands of the area’s residents have been evacuated and are still waiting to return to their homes.
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