Israeli official says Tel Aviv ill-prepared for evacuation in potential Hezbollah conflict

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli official said Thursday that Tel Aviv is inadequately prepared to evacuate residents from northern Israel in the event of a large-scale war with the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.

Concerns by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman have risen amid Israel’s repeated claims of readiness for a potential conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But a disagreement between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel about reposnsibility for evacuees has hindered the formulation of a comprehensive evacuation plan.

In a message directed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Englman emphasized the need for organized government action.

“The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense assign each other the responsibility for evacuating the population in the north,” Englman’s office wrote in a statement on X.

He urged Netanyahu to “put things in order.”

“There is no place for a situation in which there is a lack of consensus that has lasted for such a long time. A unified and orderly action by the government is needed,” it added.

The statement noted that during a recent review, Englman’s office found government institutions had not fulfilled their responsibilities in managing the reception of evacuees from the southern region, which is adjacent to Gaza, and the northern region bordering Lebanon.

Israel has already relocated hundreds of thousands of residents from towns near the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese border to hotels and guesthouses across the country since the start of its onslaught against the Palestinian enclave.

The escalating tensions have raised concerns about the possibility of an all-out war.

Notably, the Israeli army approved operational plans for a “wide-scale attack” on Lebanon more than a week ago, further fueling apprehensions.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with its deadly offensive against Gaza, which has killed more than 37,700 victims since October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio