Israel's security establishment is continuing to monitor the developments in the North closely. Meanwhile, in the coalition, threats against Hezbollah are becoming more frequent.
After Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that "the hourglass is about to reverse course," ex-MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) said in a conversation with Gadi Ness on his show on Radio North 104.5FM that "Lebanon may be destroyed in the next war."
In the midst of this, former National Security Council (NSC) chief Uzi Dayan warned in an interview with Ness that "we need to be prepared for a rocket attack from Hezbollah that will hit half of the State of Israel."
Will Hezbollah rockets hit half of Israel?
Dayan referred at the beginning of his conversation with Ness to the rocket fire towards border towns and said: "This damages Israeli deterrence over time. Hezbollah understands that up to a certain extent, they can do things, but that they need to avoid firing at populated areas."
He explained, "In the North, our sovereignty is being violated on a daily basis. Residents are not returning to their communities. What needed to be done a month ago was an operation on both fronts, in the North and in the South. But now, Gaza takes precedence. Beirut will have to come after Gaza. We cannot just sit and get attacked and do nothing in response."
Dayan said, "A harsh response in Lebanon means damaging its national infrastructure and energy sources."
"We need to attack Lebanon in general and Hezbollah specifically more harshly, and this should come in addition to having the army form a barrier, a death trap, along the settlements up North," he stressed.
However, Dayan emphasized, "We need to wait until we complete the mission in Rafah. It is important to notice that the settlements that were not evacuated are not actually being attacked. I'm not sure that the decision to evacuate was correct. The only security to be had now is the deployment of the IDF between the settlements and Hezbollah all the way to the Litani River to gradually form a death strip until such time that we have an outcome in terms of Gaza. We should be prepared for a rocket attack by Hezbollah that will spread across half of Israel."
Knesset member Moshe Passal (Likud) said in this context that "if there are tactical considerations that in another week or two we could be in a better situation, we should consider them. In the strategic picture, Israel cannot accept this situation.
"We need to consider that the war in the North will not be easy, and Lebanon may be destroyed, but there will also be significant damage in Israel in terms of lives and property. There will be no choice but to change the situation. If, maybe in three weeks, there will be an end to an experiment with a special laser beam or various things that will change the situation dramatically, then we need to bite our tongues and wait for a little bit longer. I don't think anyone is saying we need to wait and maybe avoid confrontation or accept the current situation. Clearly, we will not endure the situation for much longer. I will ask the chief of staff whether preparations will take two weeks or four. There will be no choice but to act in the North. Economically, in the war in the North, Israel will suffer damages close to a trillion shekels," he stated.
"We are in a difficult situation," Pascal admitted, "but in the end, there is no power like the power of necessity, and we have nowhere to go. We are approaching Purim in a situation where there are truly people who want to destroy, kill, and annihilate all Jews like Hitler and evil Haman did. In every generation, they stand against us to annihilate us. But we will stay here and remain strong."