Gantz tells Berlin it can help push back Hezbollah from border
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has told Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz that Berlin can play a role in removing Hezbollah’s “threat” from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
“I emphasised that for the sake of the security of Israel’s citizens and future regional stability - the threat of Hezbollah must be removed from Israel’s borders,” Gantz said in an English-language post on the X platform, referring to a phone call with Scholz.
“The State of Israel cannot reconcile with such threat, and Germany together with the international community have an important role to play in ensuring such threat is removed,” Gantz added.
Since the cross-border hostilities began between Israel and Hezbollah on Oct. 8, more than 150 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah combatants but also more than 20 civilians, three of them journalists. On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and nine soldiers have been killed, according to figures from the military.
The border violence prompted Israel to evacuate some 60,000 settlers from northern Israel.
Some 72,437 people in Lebanon are displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Israel has been pushing for Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, which lies about 30 kilometers north of the border.
Source: Naharnet
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