Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal as officials warn of a wider operation

Push to return north Israel residents risks inflaming tension

Israel said enabling residents displaced by Hezbollah attacks to return home is now a formal war objective, a signal the country is considering an all-out offensive against the Lebanese militant group.

The return of the 60,000 Israelis evacuated to the northern border was assumed as an official war objective. The defense minister points to an escalation with Lebanon as “the only possible solution”.

Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now goal as officials warn of wider war operation

The United States has pressed for restraint even as it has rushed military aid to Israel, warning its close ally that a wider war would not achieve its goals.

From now on, it is Israel's official war goal: the safe return of residents to their homes in the north, near the Lebanese border. The government is now also convinced that there is only one way to achieve that goal: a major military operation against Hezbollah.

Israel adds halting Hezbollah attacks to war goals and considers wider operation

Israel said Tuesday that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the country’s north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal, as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon that could ignite an all-out conflict. Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to take heavier military action to halt the near-daily attacks, which began shortly after the outbreak of the nearly yearlong Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel ha…

Israel updates war goals with fate of defence minister unclear

JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday (Sep 17) added the safe return of its citizens to their homes near the border with Lebanon to its formal war goals amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to replace his defence minister with a hawkish rival. Netanyahu's office said he laid out the war aim i