In a security cabinet meeting on Thursday, the ministers discussed the situation in northern Israel. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the cabinet that in his visit to the U.S, he said that an agreement is still possible if Hezbollah withdraws. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented, "We don't do agreements with Nazis."
"I told the Americans that we are not the ones seeking war in the north, and if we reach an arrangement that distances them from the border, it is acceptable," Gallant said in the discussion. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dismissed this, retorting, "How is it possible without war? How do we end this and come on top? Haven't we learned our lesson from 20 years of agreements? We'll make an arrangement, and then within a year or two, they'll rape our women and kill our children."
Minister Ron Dermer, considered close to Netanyahu, interjected: "But even if we win the war, we'll reach an agreement. Don't you think so, Minister Ben-Gvir?" He replied, "We'll win, and then there will be no one left to reach an agreement with, and that's good."
Intercepts in northern Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added, "If we reach an agreement that allows residents to return to the north, then it can be done, but must include the return of residents to the north under conditions that will allow it." Ben Gvir responded to Netanyahu, "An agreement with Hezbollah is like October 7, We don't do agreements with Nazis."
Politico reported last night that American intelligence estimates a wide-scale conflict could erupt between Israel and Hezbollah in the coming weeks if no cease-fire agreement is reached with Hamas. According to the report, the Biden administration is trying to persuade both sides to quell tensions. However, American officials remain doubtful that the potential Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement on the table will materialize.
Both Israeli and Hezbollah officials, according to American sources, have already prepared battle plans and are working to acquire additional weapons. Another senior official speaking to Politico cautioned, "The risk is higher now than at any other point in recent weeks." In Europe, several countries advised their citizens to leave Lebanon due to fear of war, and Canada plans to evacuate thousands of its citizens from Lebanon.
NBC reported on Thursday that the Pentagon deployed the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, and Marines from the 24th Expeditionary Unit, which is special operations capable, which moved into the Mediterranean on Wednesday to join the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill and another ship in their amphibious ready group, according to the Marine Corps.
4 View gallery
US deploys ships in eastern Mediterranean
(צילום: Maxwell Orlosky / US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE / AFP)
The Wasp will operate in the eastern Mediterranean to be ready for a military assisted evacuation and other missions, the officials said. The Wasp and the Marine Expeditionary Unit are also intended to project military power and be a deterrent to regional escalation, according to a U.S. official familiar with the plans.
U.S. officials say they don’t see evidence yet that a major escalation is imminent but warn that it just takes one strike or miscalculation to escalate the situation quickly. The pressure on Israel to act from its citizens in the north is "very real," one U.S. official said. He said that Israeli officials feel the need to do something. “They feel the status quo is unsustainable.”
In Thursday's cabinet meeting, Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi. "You don't want me to mention who was fast asleep on October 6," Smotrich said. The Chief of Staff stood up and began shouting, "You take that back."
Gallant also stood up, standing alongside Lieutenant General Halevi, and told Netanyahu, "You can't let cabinet ministers meddle in the IDF and the Shin Bet regularly. This is a serious phenomenon that has never happened and endangers Israel."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preferred not to criticize Smotrich outright, saying, "Both sides said unacceptable statements," referring to a statement Halevi made two weeks ago against the government. "Responsibility is not something that is understood here too much." An hour later, Smotrich apologized.