Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Kiryat Shmona following the escalation in the exchange of fire with Hezbollah that sparked widespread fires in northern Israel.
The government allowed the Israeli army to raise the number of reserve forces called for service to 350,000 soldiers. The license is valid until the end of August. Sources in the Ministry of Defense say that this is a normal and routine increase in combat forces, but the authorization comes against the backdrop of threats to launch an “intensive campaign” against Hezbollah on the northern border of Israel. The exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah has escalated in the past few days, and fires have been set in large areas in northern Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern city of Kiryat Shmona following the fires, and received a security review and briefing on operations against Hezbollah personnel and infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Netanyahu said: “At the beginning of the war, we said that we would restore security to the south and the north, and this is what we will do.”
The Prime Minister added: “Today I am on the northern border with our heroic forces and leaders, and I am also with the firefighters.” “Yesterday the ground burned here, but the ground also burned in Lebanon. Whoever thinks he can harm us and we will sit quietly is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a very intensive operation in the north. One way or another.” “We will restore security to the north.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on June 5, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in northern Israel, Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, Government Press Office