For the first time: Israel to add the north to the goals of the war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring for Cabinet approval the addition of the goal of “returning the residents of the north to their homes safely” to the goals of the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring for Cabinet approval the addition of the goal of “returning the residents of the north to their homes safely” to the goals of the war, Channel 12 News reported on Friday evening.
A defense official said that it is necessary to prepare for a long war in the north that will exact a heavy price.
According to Friday’s report, the Prime Minister held a limited security consultation on Thursday night with Ministers Ron Dermer and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, and decided during that meeting to bring this addition to the goals of the war for a vote in the Cabinet.
The report stated that the situation in the north requires attention, and the defense establishment has been asking the political echelon for quite some time to define the issue in terms of the goals of the war.
Earlier this week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the northern border, where he received a briefing on the activities of the troops stationed there in stopping terrorists and protecting communities on the northern border, and on the exercise simulating combat in Lebanese territory.
Gallant told the soldiers, “I am impressed by the determination, professionalism, and the dedication to the mission that has been going on here for almost a year – both in the north and in the south. The center of gravity is moving north, we are about to complete our tasks in the south, but we have here a mission that has not been carried out, and that mission is to change the security situation and bring the residents back to their homes.”
Early Friday morning, a barrage of approximately 20 projectiles was fired from Lebanon towards the city of Tzfat and the area.
Most of the projectiles were successfully intercepted, and the rest fell in open areas. No injuries were reported.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services operated in the area of the Biriya Forest, near Tzfat, to extinguish a fire that erupted due to a fall in the area. Seven crews of firefighters were able to extinguish the fire after several hours.
On Friday, following IDF identification, the IAF struck a Hezbollah military structure in which Hezbollah terrorists were operating in the area of Kaukaba in southern Lebanon, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Additionally, the IAF struck a weapons storage facility, a launcher from which projectiles were previously fired, and Hezbollah military structures in the areas of Majdal Zoun, Jibbain, and Blida in southern Lebanon.
Furthermore, IDF artillery struck in the areas of Labbouneh, Ramyeh, Ayta ash Shab, and Aalma El Chaeb in southern Lebanon.
