Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi speaking during a visit to northern Israel, on Jan. 17, 2024. AFP
"I don't know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past," Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement during a visit to northern Israel.
Israel has waged a war on Gaza since 7 October that has ravaged the Palestinian territory, killing at least 24,448 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Since then, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed a near-daily exchange of fire between Israel's army and Lebanon's resistance group Hezbollah, whose leader, Hassan Nasrallah, previously called on people to "work day and night" to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza. This comes on top of lingering tensions from previous wars that have mounted tensions between the two sides.
Hamas's armed wing said Wednesday it had fired 20 rockets from southern Lebanon towards Israel in response to the "massacres" in Gaza and the killing of the group's deputy leader in Beirut earlier this month.
The Israeli army said Wednesday it had carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon, including on infrastructure sites and a number of active launchers.
'Total disaster'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned that a "full-fledged confrontation" between Israel and Lebanon would be a "total disaster" as fears of a wider regional confrontation mount amid Israel's siege and war on Gaza.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, Guterres reiterated his call for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza.
"The spillover that is already taking place, the risk of a full-fledged confrontation in Lebanon, it would be a total disaster. We need to avoid it at all cost," Guterres said.
Moreover, Guterres repeated his call for an independent Palestinian state to be established.
"I believe that the present situation has demonstrated that the two-state solution is an absolutely central way to solve this problem," he said.
Cross-border strikes
Israel on Tuesday launched its most intense attacks on a single location in Lebanon's south, targeting a border valley with air strikes and artillery, a local official and a security source told AFP.
In its statement, Israel's army claimed it hit "dozens of Hezbollah posts, military structures, and weapons infrastructure".
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also reported Israeli air strikes Tuesday on other south Lebanon villages along the border.
Hezbollah on its side claimed several attacks on Israeli positions and troops on Tuesday.
Over 190 people have been killed in Lebanon during more than three months of violence, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians, among them three journalists, according to an AFP tally.
In northern Israel, nine soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online
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