Israeli defense minister tells US envoy ‘military action’ needed to return Israelis to homes in north

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday told a US envoy that military action against Lebanese Hezbollah is necessary to enable Israelis’ return to their homes in northern Israel.

Speaking to visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein, Gallant said negotiations are no longer a viable option to restore calm along the northern border with Lebanon.

“The only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes will be via military action,” Gallant told Hochstein during their meeting in Tel Aviv, according to an Israeli Defense Ministry statement.

Gallant reviewed the Israeli army’s operations against Hezbollah with Hochstein, the statement added.

Earlier on Monday, Hochstein arrived in Israel for talks aimed at preventing a full-scale war between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.

The Israeli Security Cabinet is set to convene Monday amid growing divisions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister on the approach toward Lebanon.

According to Israeli media reports, Gallant opposes launching a military campaign in Lebanon before an agreement is reached with Hamas on a Gaza cease-fire and a prisoner exchange.

Other reports said Netanyahu may sack Gallant as early as later Monday evening.

Some 60,000 Israelis have fled their homes in northern Israel since the outbreak of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah in early October.

Tensions have spiked along the Lebanon-Israel border amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with an offensive against Gaza. The offensive has killed over 41,200 people since last October following a Hamas attack.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar