Prime Minister Netanyahu is set to leave for the United Nations General Assembly this coming Tuesday and speak before the UN on Friday. However, he has no scheduled meeting with President Biden, who will be at the Assembly on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Israel Hayom.
After a day and a half of silence following the mass detonation of Hezbollah pagers and walkie talkies, the Prime Minister released a brief video statement to the public yesterday, stating that "I have already said that we will return the residents of the north safely to their homes – and that is exactly what we will do."
Together with statements by Defense Minister Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi today, all signs point to a major escalation in the north against Hezbollah with the aim of ensuring an end to projectile fire on the north and the safe return of the residents to their homes.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited Northern Command today (Wednesday) and conducted a situational assessment with members of the general staff, approving plans for both offense and defense in the north.
At its end, he hinted at the recent wave of explosions of Hezbollah pagers and walkie talkies and Israel's capabilities, saying that "we have many capabilities we have not activated ... we saw some of the things here. This seems to me to be a good level of readiness and we are pushing these plans forward."
He then stressed that the army was already thinking a number of steps forward: "The rule is that every time we work on a particular stage, the next two stages are already ready to go strongly forward. At every stage, the price for Hezbollah needs to be high."
In light of the strain between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, and despite Israel not claiming responsibility for the explosions in Lebanon, it was reported this evening that the Cabinet approved a decision allowing both officials to take actions against Hezbollah—actions that could lead to an all-out war in Lebanon.
