Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a mysterious ten-second video on Wednesday, the second day of a series of attacks targeting Hezbollah terrorists throughout Lebanon through their communications devices.
Netanyahu says, in Hebrew: “I already said, we will return the residents of the north in safety to their homes. And that is exactly what we will do.”
There was no further explanation for Netanyahu’s remarks, though the Government Press Office issued translated excerpts of a speech by defense minister Yoav Gallant, in which he said: “The ‘center of gravity’ is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena.”
On Tuesday, Israel’s security cabinet decided to expand the current war goals — destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages, and ensuring Gaza can never threaten Israel again — to include returning northern residents to their homes.
As Breitbart News has reported, Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and which is occupying southern Lebanon illegally, has launched thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones at Israel, unprovoked, since October.
Israel has responded in kind, but has been forced to evacuate some 60,500 residents from 74 northern towns — both Jewish and Arab.
Diplomatic efforts, led by the U.S., have failed to convince Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel and to withdraw north of Lebanon’s Litani River, in accordance with the agreement that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Israel has said that it will use military force to push Hezbollah away from the border if necessary. Hezbollah, armed by Iran and its allies, is thought to be a far stronger force than Hamas, but Israelis broadly support a war against it.
On Tuesday, thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah fighters exploded across Lebanon, killing a dozen people and wounding 2,750. On Wednesday, walkie-talkies and other devices exploded, killing three and injuring hundreds.
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 Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.