Gallant: Israel not looking for war with Hezbollah, diplomatic route always better

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that Israel is “not looking for war” with Hezbollah and that a diplomatic solution is preferable, as the far-right Otzma Yehudit party indicated it would bolt the government if Israel shied away from launching a full-scale assault on the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Nevertheless, Gallant reiterated that Israel is making preparations and planning for a wider conflict, and said the ball is in Hezbollah’s court.

The defense minister’s remarks came hours after a tense cabinet meeting in which National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of Otzma Yehudit, criticized Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for supporting a deal with Hezbollah to avert all-out war in the north.

Speaking to troops at an Iron Dome air defense system battery in northern Israel, Gallant said the Israel is developing two “significant” alternatives for Lebanon.

“[We are] preparing the military force… and this can happen quickly. On the other hand, the political alternative is being prepared, it is always better,” he said.

“We are not looking for war but we are ready for it. And we will reach a junction, it will be a T junction both for the enemy and for us. If [Hezbollah] chooses to go to war, we will know what to do. If it chooses to go to an agreement, we will respond to this matter,” Gallant said.

“I know it’s not easy, not easy for you and not easy for the residents of the north. There is one thing I can tell you and that is that it is much more difficult for Hezbollah and Lebanon. It is easy to speak from the bunker and make statements,” he said, apparently referring to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“At the end of the day, there are over 450 terrorists killed [in Lebanon]. The area is hit on a very severe level. Therefore, this burden is placed on the enemy in a much greater way than on us,” Gallant added.

Gallant reportedly made a similar point at the cabinet meeting which began late on Thursday.

“I told the Americans that we are not the ones who want a war in the north, and if we reach a deal that removes [Hezbollah] from a border, that would be acceptable,” said Gallant, who recently returned from a four-day visit to Washington.

“How can we not have a war?” Ben Gvir was said to interject. “Have we learned nothing from 20 years of deal-making? We’ll make a deal, and then within a year or two they’ll rape our women and murder our children.”

Ben Gvir also reportedly pushed back when Netanyahu expressed support for a diplomatic resolution to the tensions with Hezbollah.

“If we reach an arrangement that allows the return of residents to the north, then we can make a deal,” Netanyahu was quoted by Hebrew media as saying, “but that’s the crux of it — returning the residents up north. Only with the conditions that allow that [will Israel make a deal].”

Ben Gvir was said to reiterate that making a deal with Hezbollah would lead to a repeat of October 7, adding: “You don’t make deals with Nazis.”

A member of Ben Gvir’s party was later quoted as threatening the faction would bolt the government if Israel did not launch an offensive on Hezbollah.

“If there is no campaign in the north, we will have to make a decision about remaining in the government,” Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer said. “This government cannot continue to exist if a diplomatic agreement is made [to end tensions] in the north.”

The far-right party, whose name translates literally as “Jewish power,” holds six of the Knesset’s 120 seats. If it were to leave the coalition, the government would be left with 58 seats — three short of a majority — and would be unable to govern.

The party has threatened to leave the government several times in the past.