Netanyahu asks army to 'prepare to change situation' in north

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that he has instructed the army and security forces to prepare to change the situation on Lebanon’s border, where Israel has been engaged in near-daily clashes with Hezbollah since October 8 last year.

“Iran's strongest arm is Hezbollah in Lebanon. I have instructed the IDF (army) and all security forces to prepare to change this situation. There is no possibility that we will continue in the current situation, and we are obligated to safely return all the residents of the north to their homes,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet session, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents on both sides of the border and Israel has repeatedly vowed to act to return its citizens through war or diplomatic action.

The cross-border violence has killed some 614 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 138 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.

Israel and Hezbollah had on August 25 exchanged heavy fire that briefly raised fears of an all-out war. On that day, Israel said around 100 warplanes launched airstrikes targeting hundreds of rocket launchers across southern Lebanon to thwart an imminent Hezbollah attack. Hezbollah for its part said it launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli military and security bases, including at a key intelligence base in Tel Aviv’s suburbs.

Hezbollah called the attack a response to the killing of one of its top commanders, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in July.

The August 25 exchange of fire did not set off a long-feared war, and the heavy firepower and lack of civilian casualties allowed both sides to claim a sort of victory and step back. But tensions remain high.

Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel shortly after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies, each backed by Iran. Israel has responded with airstrikes.

Israel has vowed to bring quiet to the border to allow its citizens to return to their homes. It says it prefers to resolve the issue diplomatically through U.S. and other mediators but will use force if necessary. Hezbollah officials have said the group does not seek a wider war but is prepared for one.

Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 rockets and is capable of hitting all parts of Israel. It has also developed an increasingly sophisticated fleet of drones and has been experimenting with precision-guided missiles. A full-scale war could force hundreds of thousands of Israelis to flee, paralyze the Israeli economy and force the army, which is still engaged in Gaza, to fight on two fronts.

Israel has vowed a crushing response to any major Hezbollah attack that would likely devastate Lebanon's civilian infrastructure and economy, which has been mired in crisis for years. Beirut's southern suburbs, and towns and villages across southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah's main strongholds are located, would likely be flattened.

An Israeli ground invasion to root out Hezbollah could drag on for years. The militant group is far more advanced and better-armed than Hamas in Gaza, which is still putting up a fight after 10 months of intense Israeli bombardment and ground maneuvers.