Gallant says Israel won't cease fire if Hezbollah does
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned that a potential pause in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza will not apply to the ongoing hostilities with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“If Hezbollah thinks that when there’s a pause in fighting in the south (Gaza), we will hold fire against it, it’s sorely mistaken,” Gallant said after meeting troops from the Israeli army’s Alpine Unit on Mount Hermon, according to a statement from his office.
The comments come amid negotiations via mediators between Israel and Hamas over a potential agreement that would see 136 hostages — almost three dozen of them confirmed dead — returned home in exchange for the release of a yet-to-be-determined number of Palestinian security prisoners as well as an extended pause in the fighting.
The previous weeklong truce agreement in late November, in which 105 hostages were released, saw both Israel and Hezbollah hold their fire on the northern border, even though this wasn’t part of the agreement inked between Israel and Hamas via Qatar and Egypt.
But Gallant warned Friday that would not be the case the next time around.
“I say here explicitly: until we reach a situation in which it’s possible to restore security for residents of the north, we will not stop. Whether we reach this through a [diplomatic] arrangement or military means, we will [restore] calm,” he told troops, according to the statement from his office.
Hezbollah-led forces have been attacking Israeli military posts along the border on a near-daily basis since October 8, a day after Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel. Hezbollah says its attacks are to support the Palestinian people and resistance factions in Gaza.
Gallant discussed northern border tensions during a call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday night.
The U.S. is seeking to help broker a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in order to prevent a full-blown war between the sides.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is slated to arrive in Israel over the weekend to discuss efforts toward that end, following an earlier trip this month to soothe mounting tensions.
Hochstein was heavily involved in shepherding talks that culminated in Israel and Lebanon demarcating a maritime border in 2022.
Source: Naharnet
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