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 today (Wednesday), 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."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Ramat David air base today, where he spoke with commanders and pilots and learned of developments in the north.
Following this, Gallant provided an assessment for the near future, saying that "the center of gravity has moved north. This means we are diverting forces, resources, energy towards the north."
Gallant also implicitly rejected reports of discord between himself, the Prime Minister, and the IDF Chief of Staff, Gallant said that "there is complete coordination in the systems and unity regarding achievement of the goals: the Prime Minister, the Chief of Staff, the Shin Bet Director, the Mossad Director, and the Defense Minister - everything they represent, it's all in a shared form devoted to one goal - to return the residents (to the north)."
