Israel's army chief says a military operation in Lebanon is realistic scenario

Israel’s army chief of staff General Benny Gantz said an Israeli military operation in Lebanon is not only a realistic scenario but a necessary one.

Gantz told Israel’s Channel 2 that threats against Israel from Lebanon and Gaza are not a mere campaign of intimidation but a reality pointing out that Israel is considering an increase in the level of its preparedness to emergency level to answer these threats.

Commenting on the Syrian civil war Gantz said that Israel must prepare for all variables that could change at any time. The senior security official praised the state of calm prevailing on the Egyptian front but urged the Israeli people and government not to rely on the current situation as things could change at any moment.

Gantz concluded saying that “with the Palestinians, Iranians and others, Israel lives in a place that does not know calm so if we are weak, we cannot survive”. Gantz pointed out to the need to possess strong military and civilian immunity systems to protect Israel.

Meanwhile in Beirut, a military court sentenced three Lebanese to 15 years in prison on charges of spying for Israel, communicating with its agents and obtaining Israeli citizenship. The court sentenced Hani Mahrous Haddad, Mahrous Ibrahim Abu Jamra and George Khalil Hasbani to 15 years in prison with forced labour and to strip them of their civil rights and fined each one of them one million Lebanese pounds ($660,000 US) and issued immediate arrest warrants against them.