Army Chief Warns of ‘Much Higher’ Likelihood of War in Israel’s North

The likelihood of war erupting along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon has significantly increased, according to Israel’s army chief. Herzi Halevi, during a visit to northern Israel, stated that the chance of a conflict in the coming months is substantially higher than before.

There have been almost daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah along the Lebanese-Israeli border. This comes in the wake of Hamas’s armed wing announcing on Wednesday that they launched 20 rockets from southern Lebanon towards Israel. This action was in retaliation to the events in Gaza and the killing of Hamas’s deputy leader in Beirut earlier this month.

The Israeli army responded with air strikes in southern Lebanon, targeting “terrorist infrastructure sites and a number of active launchers”. On Tuesday, Israel carried out its most intense attacks in a single location in southern Lebanon, focusing on a border valley with air strikes and artillery.

The ongoing violence in Lebanon over the past three months has resulted in the deaths of over 190 people, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians, with three journalists among the casualties, as reported by AFP. On the Israeli side, nine soldiers and six civilians have lost their lives, as per Israeli authorities.