Israel’s security cabinet has declared the return of refugees to the north of the country as another goal of the Gaza war in the conflict with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. Israel will work “towards achieving this goal,” the Prime Minister’s office said in the night after a cabinet meeting, according to media reports. Since the start of the almost daily fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, tens of thousands of people in both countries have fled the border region.
Until now, the Israeli leadership had defined its war aims as the destruction of the military capabilities and government apparatus of the Islamist Hamas in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the guarantee that Israel would no longer be threatened by the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been shelling Israel since the Gaza war began almost a year ago. It will not cease its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. Israel is demanding that Hezbollah withdraw from the border area, as stipulated in a UN resolution.
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