Israel’s government began the week by setting a formal new war goal: the return home of 60,000 people in northern Israel displaced by Hezbollah rocket fire. On the Lebanese side of the border, 90,000 people have been displaced by the conflict.
Since the goal was announced, Hezbollah has been struck in ways it’s become used to, namely air strikes, and ways it never anticipated, meaning the wave of deadly pager and walkie talkie explosions.
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant has spoken of a new phase in the war, with the centre of gravity said to be moving north. A division of the army has been moved north, away from its previous focus on Gaza in the south.
But, despite all this, Israel’s new war goal doesn’t appear any closer to being achieved.
Just yesterday, Hezbollah fired around 200 rockets into northern Israel, according to the Israeli military, and the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has said it won’t stop fighting until Israel ceases its aggression in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
As a result, there’s public debate about Israel’s next move, including a potential ground incursion into southern Lebanon, and that’s feeding into international concern about a slide into all-out war.
Following yesterday’s airstrikes on Beirut, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a brief message on social media. It said: “Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves.”
