GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 353

Will They Get The Message?

Preventing Them

That’s what Prime Minister Netanyahu is telling us. They intend to stop attacks before they can happen as we learn from a report from The Jerusalem Post:

The IDF is pre-empting security threats rather than waiting to respond to attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as IDF action to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River raised international alarm, drew threats from Iran and caused concern in Washington.

The PM tried to clear up any confusion about their plans:

"I would like to clarify Israel's policy to whoever does not yet understand,” Netanyahu stated as he held security consultations with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief-of-Staff Herzl Halevi.

“We are not waiting for the threat, we are pre-empting it – everywhere, in every sector, constantly. We are eliminating senior figures, terrorists, and missiles – and our arm is still extended,” he stressed.

“Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm them all the more forcefully,” he underscored in a message he issued.

Netanyahu intends to change the balance of power in the north of Israel:

Israel for the last week has engaged in an intensive military campaign to sway the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah to move its forces out of the southern border area and back to the Litani River.

“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of forces in the north [by Lebanon] – this is exactly what we are doing. We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets that are directed at Israel's cities and citizens,” he said.

Actions do speak louder than words as we’re told:

On Monday evening Israel launched a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs aimed at senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki, the head of the southern front, but his fate was unclear, a security source told Reuters.

Israel said the IDF had struck 800 targets in southern Lebanon earlier in the day. Lebanese authorities reported 356 dead in the country's deadliest day in decades, due to its ongoing conflict with Israel.

Hezbollah announced they were trying to hit the IDF at one of their bases in response to the IDF hitting them over and over again. Is this the way Israel eliminates the terrorist threat on their northern border? I don’t think it will, but I could be wrong. In any event, weakening Hezbollah’s ability to launch their missiles is not a bad thing.

Dragging Them To War

Iran thinks that after they said if Israel sends troops into Lebanon they would attack Israel that their current words and plans are tempting them to keep their words:

In New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel wanted to drag the Middle East into a full-blown war by provoking Iran to join the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

And he blames Israel for stoking those feelings:

"It is Israel that seeks to create this all-out conflict," he told journalists after his arrival in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, saying the consequences of such instability would be irreversible.

One United Nations official says they are concerned, too:

Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, spoke with reporters about the dangers of Monday’s events.

“The Secretary-General is gravely alarmed by the escalating situation along the Blue Line” that has caused civilian casualties on both sides, Dujarric said as he explained that UN officials were working to de-escalate the situation so that a diplomatic resolution could be sought.

And the US is also concerned:

Joe Biden discussed the escalating situation along Israel’s northern border when he welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to the White House on Monday.

Biden said Lebanon and Gaza would feature prominently in their discussions, explaining he had been briefed on the latest developments between Israel and Lebanon.

"I continue to be in contact with our counterparts and we're working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely,” Biden said.

We also heard from Israel’s foreign minister as well, especially on the issue of a buffer zone between the terrorists and Israel:

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the United Nations Security Council must act to ensure that the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah pulls out of southern Lebanon.

“Even before October 8, Israel repeatedly warned the Security Council and UNIFIL about Hezbollah’s increasing military entrenchment on both sides of the Litani River,” Katz said in a letter he wrote Monday to the Security Council.

“Now, this council must bring about a full implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 and guarantee that there are no armed personnel, assets, and weapons between the Blue Line and the Litani River, other than those of the Government of Lebanon and UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon),” Katz wrote.

This isn’t a new development, and one that the UN isn’t enforcing:

Israel has long urged the international community and the UNSC in particular to ensure that Hezbollah adheres to Resolution 1701 which set out the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006. That resolution mandates that no armed state actor, such as Hezbollah, is allowed to operate between the Israeli-Lebanese border and the Litani River.

Because Hezbollah thumbs it nose at the UN the issue needs to be brought up if only to make it safer for Israel’s residents can return home:

Hezbollah has persistently ignored that mandate. In the aftermath of the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, Netanyahu’s government has held that Israeli citizens cannot safely live in their border communities until such time as Hezbollah withdrawals to the Litani River.

Their Support For Hamas

Hezbollah is tying their support for Hamas to any talks of moving behind that border:

The constrained IDF-Hezbollah cross-border war of the last year has only heightened the danger, with Hezbollah linking a diplomatic resolution to that constrained war with a Gaza ceasefire.

The Israeli minister brought that up in his comments:

Katz told the UNSC that Israel had engaged “constructively” to secure a diplomatic resolution to the conflict but that Hezbollah had rejected those efforts.

“Hezbollah has refused to support a diplomatic arrangement, instead linking the issue to a ceasefire in Gaza,” Katz wrote.

Like Hamas, Hezbollah doesn’t play by the rules of international engagement:

“Hezbollah deliberately deploys its arms within civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, using the civilian population as human shields. Israel has been monitoring this attempt and will act in order to protect its population from Hezbollah attacks,” he said.

Katz wants the UN to take a strong stand:

“I call upon the Security Council to condemn in the strongest terms the recent attack launched by Hezbollah under the guidelines of its Iranian patron, and their relentless attempts to destabilize the region,” Katz stated.

The PM then warned his people to listen and stand together:

In a message to Israeli citizens, Netanyahu said, “We face complex times. Citizens of Israel, I ask of you two things: Follow the directives of Home Front Command, they save lives; and stand together with determination, responsibility, and – of course – patience.

“Together we will stand strong, together we will fight and with G-d's help, together we will win,” he exclaimed.

He then spoke to the people of Lebanon:

In a separate message to the Lebanese people,” he stated, *Israel's war is not with you. It's with Hezbollah.*

“For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens,” he exclaimed.

The PM also told them why they’re hitting Lebanon:

“To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out these weapons,” Lebanon said.

“Starting this morning, the IDF has warned you to get out of harm's way. I urge you – to take this warning seriously.* Don't let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Don't let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon.

“Please, get out of harm's way now. Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes,” Netanyahu stressed.

In the past week a lot of messages have been sent to both Hezbollah and the Lebanese people from Israel. Hopefully they are listening and planning appropriately.