Official vows Israelis will return to evacuated northern towns after war against Hamas

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

A fragment of a rocket fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 18, 2023. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)
A fragment of a rocket fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 18, 2023. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)

An Israeli official says that the IDF, and its deployment on the northern border, would change as well after the war.

“The IDF will deploy against a [massive] breach of the border, and not just a penetration of a few terrorist cells into communities,” says the official.

“The IDF will be bigger,” continues the official. “We will invest in the army.”

The official adds that Hezbollah “cannot breach the border because of our deployment and the readiness of our forces. The issue of ‘capturing the north’ is no longer relevant.”

Civilians will return to evacuated communities in the north, vows the official, “because of the scale and strength of the victory over Hamas.”

The official also stresses that efforts are underway to make sure a massive terror attack, similar to that Hamas carried out on October 7, cannot happen in the West Bank. “The possibility of a major change [in IDF operations] in the West Bank remains a realistic one.”

Most Popular