Benny Gantz, the National Unity Party leader and former member of Israel's war cabinet, has issued a stark warning that Israel must immediately refocus its military efforts toward Hezbollah and the volatile Lebanese border. Speaking at the Middle East America Dialogue (MEAD) summit in Washington, DC, Gantz emphasized that the threat from the Iran-backed terror group has reached a critical point, with the potential for a devastating war looming if Israel does not promptly secure a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.
"We Are Late on This": Gantz Calls for Action in the North
Gantz did not mince words as he laid out the gravity of the situation. “The time for [action in] the north has come,” he declared, underscoring that Israel's response has been delayed far too long. He stressed the urgency of enabling the return of northern residents to their homes, even if it requires direct military strikes against targets within Lebanon. “Unfortunately, I don’t see another way,” he lamented, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by Hezbollah’s relentless rocket attacks since the aftermath of Hamas's brutal assault on Israel on October 7 last year.
🇮🇱🇱🇧GANTZ: IT’S TIME FOR WAR WITH HEZBOLLAH
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 9, 2024
The Knesset member and chairman of the National Unity party made the comments at the MEAD conference in Washington:
“The time for action in the North has come – if we do not reach a deal for the hostages within days or a few weeks, we… pic.twitter.com/0JMua0EALZ
Evacuation Controversy and Strategic Missteps
Reflecting on the decisions made in the heat of the initial conflict, Gantz acknowledged that evacuating tens of thousands of Israelis from the north was a miscalculation. He argued that only communities and kibbutzim directly adjacent to the border should have been evacuated. “The decision stemmed from the insecurity we experienced at the beginning of the war,” he admitted, taking personal responsibility as a member of the war cabinet formed to manage Israel’s dual-front battle against Hamas and Hezbollah.
Shifting the Focus: From Hamas to Iran and Its Proxies
Gantz underscored that the threat landscape has evolved significantly since the start of the conflict. “The story of Hamas is old news,” he stated. “The story of Iran and its proxies all around the area and what they are trying to do is the real issue.” While he expressed a preference for reaching a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza to bring Israeli captives home and restore some measure of calm, he did not shy away from the grim reality that a northern conflict could become inevitable without such an agreement.
Gantz: 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝘇𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻.
— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) September 9, 2024
𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬▸ https://t.co/HwG1MauZua pic.twitter.com/ujiZ66XNFG
Hamas Negotiations: A Stalemate or a Ploy?
At the same conference, Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s point man on the ongoing hostage crisis, cast doubt on Hamas’s willingness to negotiate in good faith. According to Hirsch, Hamas is not genuinely interested in reaching a deal but rather seeks to “exhaust” Israel, particularly when international pressure mounts on Jerusalem to make concessions. “There is a direct line between international pressure on Israel and Hamas’s lack of interest in signing a deal,” Hirsch asserted, pushing back against accusations that Israel has been inflexible in negotiations.
Netanyahu Under Fire: Accusations of Deal Sabotage
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from American officials and other observers for allegedly being too rigid in talks with Hamas, especially following the gruesome discovery of six Israeli hostages’ bodies in a Gaza tunnel. Hirsch vehemently defended Israel’s position, branding the accusations as baseless. He insisted that Israel has never turned down a viable deal, countering claims that Netanyahu’s insistence on long-term security measures along the Gaza-Egypt border—the Philadelphi Corridor—has obstructed a potential agreement.
Benny Gantz stated that if a hostage agreement is not reached within a few days or weeks, they will be forced to go to war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
— Intelligence FRONT (@intelligencefnt) September 9, 2024
▪️Gantz said, “Even if Lebanon itself suffers, we must do this, and we must return our citizens to their homes in the north.”… pic.twitter.com/2FpcaYhhvc
The Broader Implications: Regional Dynamics and Prospects for Peace
The MEAD summit also saw participation from prominent regional figures, including Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, who spoke before an audience filled with Israelis. While details of her remarks and the broader panel discussion involving Moroccan and Bahraini ambassadors remain under wraps, the presence of these diplomats underscored the complex and shifting landscape of Middle Eastern geopolitics.
Despite the ongoing war and the chilling reminder of the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, which claimed 1,200 lives and plunged Israel into a prolonged conflict, there remains a flicker of hope for regional normalization. A senior Israeli official speculated that a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia might still be within reach during the American lame-duck period between the November election and the January inauguration. However, this optimistic scenario hinges on achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and outlining a concrete vision for addressing the Palestinian issue.
”THE TIME FOR ACTION IN THE NORTH HAS COME”
— WORLD AT WAR (@World_At_War_6) September 9, 2024
Former war cabinet member Benny Gantz said yesterday that Israel should shift its focus toward Hezbollah and the Lebanese border.
Benny Gantz:🇮🇱
”The time for action in the north has come”
”We need to ensure that we can return… pic.twitter.com/vYpz9kyGdv
A Call to Action: The Time for Decisive Moves is Now
Gantz’s impassioned call for action serves as a clarion call to Israel and its allies: the time to act is now, before the window for preempting a northern war with Hezbollah closes. As Israel navigates the treacherous waters of Middle Eastern politics, the decisions made in the coming weeks will reverberate far beyond its borders, shaping the future of a region at the crossroads of conflict and diplomacy.
