Statements by the Israeli government on Monday suggested a larger war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah may be looming.
The chances of an agreement are getting smaller as Hezbollah continues to “bind” itself to the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and refuses to end the conflict, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a meeting with US mediator Amos Hochstein.
“Therefore, military action is the only way to guarantee the return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant said.
His comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Hochstein: “It will not be possible to return our residents without a fundamental change in the security situation in the north.”
They discussed efforts to improve the security situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon and ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes, following violence in the area between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah.
Since the war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip 11 months ago, military clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah have taken place almost daily in the border area between the two countries.
There have been casualties on both sides, most of them members of Hezbollah. Hezbollah says it stands in solidarity with Hamas.
Hochstein has been working for months to calm the tense situation at the border, where tens of thousands of people have fled their homes.
According to Israeli TV channel N12, he also warned top Israeli politicians about the dangerous consequences of a larger war, which could spread further to the rest of the region.
Netanyahu said that while Israel appreciates and respects the US support, it will ultimately “do whatever is necessary to ensure its security and allow the residents of the north to return safely to their homes.”
Earlier, a Hezbollah fighter was killed and six others wounded in violence in areas along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, one person was killed and four others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Houla in southern Lebanon. Three of them were taken to hospital.
Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters on Monday, but did not say where or when he was killed. However, a Lebanese security source said he was killed in the airstrike on Houla.
The ministry said a new Israeli airstrike lightly injured two paramedics working for a Hezbollah emergency medical organization in Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon.
An Israeli mortar shell was said to have struck near the aid workers’ car as they were carrying out “their humanitarian duties” following the Israeli attack.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it had struck “terrorist infrastructure” in the Houla area.
The Israeli strikes came after a number of projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel and intercepted. No injuries were reported on the Israeli side of the border.
Hezbollah said it fired rockets at several targets in northern Israel to avenge Israeli attacks on civilian areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday.
