IDF Chief of Staff: Near ‘Decision’ on War in Lebanon

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that Israel was reaching the “decision” point on whether to go to war in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.

The need to go to war to defend Israel’s northern region has become more acute since a barrage of Hezbollah rockets and drones over the weekend ignited major wildfires. Most border towns in Israel have been evacuated for months.

In a statement, the IDF said:

Today (Tuesday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, conducted a tour and situational assessment with the Israel Fire and Rescue Services Commissioner, Fire Commissioner Eyal Caspi at the ‘Gibor’ Camp on the northern border, with the participation of the Commanding Officer of the 91st Division, (BG) Shai Klapper, Northern Region Commander in the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Assistant Fire Commissioner Yair Elkayam, and additional commanders.

Following this, they met the forces that operated last night (Monday) to put out the fires in the north, and noted the determination and professionalism with which they operated.

Additionally, the Chief of the General Staff spoke with the commanders of the Golani Brigade who are currently on the northern border.

From the statement of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi: “We are approaching the point where a decision will have to be made, and the IDF is prepared and very ready for this decision. We have been striking here for eight months and Hezbollah is paying a very, very high price. Hezbollah has increased its attacks in recent days and we are prepared after a very good process of training up to the level of a General Staff exercise to move to an offensive in the north. Strong defense, readiness for an offensive, we are approaching a decision point.”

From the statement of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services Commissioner, Fire Commissioner Eyal Caspi: “The collaborations that take place routinely with the IDF lead to the required preparation and readiness of both bodies, and are implemented in practice also in wartime, while maximizing the relative advantage of each of the formations for the benefit of the State of Israel.”

Hezbollah is operating near the Israeli border in blatant violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1707 (2006), which ended the Second Lebanon War. Neither the UN nor the Lebanese military has enforced the resolution.

The Israeli government’s “war cabinet” met Tuesday night, ostensibly to discuss the situation in Lebanon. No decisions had been reported as of the time of this writing, but Israel has been preparing for a possible second front.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.