In a significant shift, Israel is redirecting its military efforts towards the northern front with Hezbollah, potentially reducing its activities in Gaza.
This strategic pivot was confirmed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who noted that the Israeli military is gradually shifting its attention from Gaza to the Lebanese border.
During a tour in the north on Tuesday, Gallant revealed that Israel had scaled down its Gaza operations and is now focusing on confronting Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
He assured soldiers that while the base of operations was moving from south to north, many tasks remained in the south.
Hours after Gallant’s remarks, Israeli aircraft launched airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for the second consecutive night.
A military statement reported secondary explosions following the airstrikes, which also targeted Hezbollah’s air defenses posing a threat to Israeli aircraft, according to the “Times of Israel.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported one death and 30 injuries from the strikes. Additionally, the ministry announced the deaths of two individuals in separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, including a Hezbollah fighter and a young Syrian man.
The Israeli military also targeted Khalil Al-Muqaddah, a leader of the Martyrs of Al-Aqsa Brigades in Lebanon, accusing him and his brother Munir Al-Muqaddah of working for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and being involved in orchestrating attacks and smuggling money and weapons to the West Bank.
In retaliation, Hezbollah launched over 200 rockets and drones, striking several homes in the occupied Syrian Golan. Hezbollah claimed to have conducted an attack with “swarms of assault drones” on military sites in the Israeli residential area of Amiad, 22 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
The group also announced it had targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a guided missile, claiming a direct hit at the Abbasid position, as per a statement circulated by the National News Agency.
This escalation marks a notable intensification of hostilities on the northern front, signaling a potential new phase in the conflict.
