Egypt Daily News – Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday that Tel Aviv is entering a new phase of the war and is redirecting forces, resources, and energy towards the north.
Galant said during a visit to the “Ramat David” airbase (in the north): “The center of gravity is shifting northward, which means we are reallocating forces, resources, and energy towards the north.”
He added, “We have not forgotten the hostages (held in Gaza) and the missions in the south (the war on Gaza), and this is our duty, and we are carrying it out at the same time.”
The occupying defense minister continued: “We are at the beginning of a new phase in the war, and this requires us to have courage, determination, and perseverance.” “It is very important to carry out things in close cooperation among all organizations and at all levels.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army decided to transfer an elite division from the Gaza Strip to the northern border with Lebanon, amid heightened alert there, in anticipation of a possible response from Hezbollah, following the detonation of thousands of wireless communication devices in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government and “Hezbollah” accused Israel of carrying out the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tel Aviv responded to that with official silence, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office distanced itself in a statement from a post by his advisor Topaz Luke on the platform “X,” in which he hinted at Tel Aviv’s responsibility for the attack before deleting it.
In this context, the broadcasting authority reported that “Israel has raised its state of alert on Tuesday evening to its highest levels since the start of the war, also following the assassination of Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff, Fouad Shukr, about two months ago.”
Netanyahu has been pushing hard in recent days for a military operation against Lebanon in response to “Hezbollah,” under the pressure of internal demands due to the continued shelling of Israeli military sites by the party, and the failure to return tens of thousands of settlers who were displaced from the north when clashes began on the Lebanon front.
