Lebanon has been rocked by a series of explosions over the past two days. A total of over 31 people have been killed and thousands injured. Israel has been singled out from several quarters as being behind the attacks, but has not yet made a statement.
In both Lebanon and Israel, the fear of further escalation is high. The Israeli military is in the process of moving troops from Gaza up to the northern part of the country, near the border with Lebanon and to the Golan Heights, says SVT’s Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid who, together with photographer Pablo Torres, is on site in Tel Aviv.
– It seems that you are ready at the border, he says SVT’s live broadcast.
The promise of Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a brief statement on Wednesday evening – but without mentioning the explosions. Instead, he says in a short video on X that the goal is for Israelis who have been evacuated from their homes in the north in the past year to be able to return.
“I have already said that we will allow the people of the north to return to their homes safely, and that is exactly what we will do,” he says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has also said that Israel’s war goals for the front in the north are “clear and simple”: That evacuated residents should be allowed to return home.
– We are at the beginning of a new phase in the war, it requires courage, determination and endurance, Gallant said when he addressed Israeli troops on Wednesday.
Since the Gaza war broke out with the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, Israel and Hezbollah have attacked each other regularly, and many villages and communities in northern Israel are now empty of residents due to the insecurity.
Then it could become a regular war
– This may indicate that something bigger is going on and a bigger military operation on the part of Israel. Should there be a ground invasion or a war, it probably means that Hezbollah responds or takes revenge and then it could become a full-fledged war, says Samir Abu Eid.
Middle East expert Alexander Atarodi believes that Israel’s new plan for northern Israel must be put into practice, probably by military means.
– Then the question is whether Israel will go in with a full invasion as it did in 2006 or whether it will be a more limited operation to secure the buffer zone that Israel is keen to have in order to guarantee the safety of its population.