(Jerusalem) The Israeli army will “go into action very soon” in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon, where there are daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday .
The minister informed soldiers stationed near the border with Gaza that others currently deployed in the Palestinian territory would leave the area for the north of the country.
“They will soon come into action […] therefore the forces in the north are reinforced,” said Yoav Gallant, adding that reservists would also leave their positions in order to prepare for these future operations.
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi recently estimated that the probability of a war “in the coming months” in the north of the country was today “much higher than it was in the past”.
Since the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israeli territory on October 7, which triggered the war in Gaza, there have been constant exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, a Lebanese movement allied with Iran and Hamas.
In more than three months, more than 200 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to an AFP count. On the Israeli side, fifteen people died, including nine soldiers and six civilians, according to the Israeli army.
Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for 12 attacks since the night from Sunday to Monday against Israeli positions. On Friday, the Shiite Islamist movement mentioned for the first time the use of falaq-1 rockets, produced in Iran.
In the evening, the Israeli army indicated that it had carried out strikes against Hezbollah in response, including against “infrastructure and an observation post located in the Lebanese areas of Markaba, Taybeh and Maroun El Ras”.
Hezbollah strike sites were also targeted, its statement said.
Yoav Gallant also said that Hamas fighters lacked supplies and ammunition, but that the war would last for months.
The unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
In response, Israel vowed to “annihilate” the Islamist movement in power in Gaza and launched a vast military operation in Gaza which left 26,637 people dead, the vast majority of them women, children and adolescents, according to an updated report from the Ministry of Defense. Hamas Health.