Israel’s Netanyahu demands ‘radical change’ on border with Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday reportedly told US envoy Amos Hochstein that settlers in northern Israel can only return after “a fundamental change in the security situation” there.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister met with Hochstein at the defence ministry’s headquarters in Tel Aviv and explained that “Israel appreciates and respects the support of the United States, but ultimately it will do what is necessary to ensure its security and allow the people of the north to return home safely.”

Hochstein arrived in Israel yesterday and met with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who also stressed that “the only way to return the residents of the north to their homes is through military action,” referring to striking Hezbollah and southern Lebanon.

Gallant reportedly told Hochstein that “the possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict.”

“Therefore, the only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes will be via military action,”  a statement from his office said.

Since 8 October, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have been exchanging fire with the Israeli army across the Blue Line separating the two sides, leaving hundreds dead and wounded, most of them on the Lebanese side.

The factions are demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 136,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, and left more than 10,000 missing.

READ: Netanyahu to expand military operation in northern front with Lebanon: Israeli media