By Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant traveled to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and the escalation of hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have fueled fears of a broader conflict.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel since the Gaza war broke out more than eight months ago. The group has said it will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We are prepared for any action that may be necessary in Gaza, Lebanon and beyond,” Gallant said in a statement before leaving for Washington, where he said he will meet with his counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In early June, Hezbollah attacked Israeli cities and military sites with the largest barrages of rockets and drones in hostilities yet, after an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah’s highest-ranking commander so far.
US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon last week in an attempt to cool tensions, amid increased cross-border fire and escalating rhetoric on both sides.
Some Israeli officials have linked the current Israeli advance in Rafah, the southern area of Gaza where it says it is attacking the last battalions of the Islamist militant group Hamas, with a possible focus on Lebanon.
Gallant seemed to make the same link in his statement.
“The transition to Phase C in Gaza is of great importance. I will discuss this transition with American officials, how it can allow for additional things and I know that we will achieve close cooperation with the United States on this issue as well,” Gallant said.
Reducing operations in Gaza would free up forces to confront Hezbollah, should Israel launch a ground offensive or intensify its aerial bombardment.
Officials have described the third and final phase of Israel’s offensive in Gaza as a reduction in fighting as efforts intensify to stabilize a post-Hamas government and begin reconstruction in the enclave, much of which has been devastated.
Gallant, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has clashed with the prime minister in recent months, calling for a clearer postwar plan for Gaza that does not leave Israel in charge, a demand echoed by the White House.
Netanyahu has been walking a tightrope as he seeks to keep his government together by balancing the demands of the defense establishment, including former generals like Gallant, and far-right coalition partners who have resisted any post-Gaza strategy that could open the path to a future Palestinian state.
The head of Israel’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuli Edelstein, told Army Radio on Sunday that fighting Hezbollah would be complex either way, now or later.
“We are not in the right position to fight on both the southern front and the northern front. We will have to deploy differently in the south to be able to fight in the north,” said Edelstein, also a Likud member.
Edelstein criticized a Netanyahu video released last week in which the prime minister said the Biden administration was “withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.” The video sparked a dispute with the White House.
President Joe Biden’s administration halted a shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs in May over concerns about their impact if used in densely populated areas of Gaza. Israel had yet to obtain billions of dollars in American weapons.
“I hope that the closed-door talks will achieve much more than with attempts to pressure with videos,” Edelstein said, referring to Gallant’s trip.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants swept into southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
The offensive has killed more than 37,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and has left almost the entire population of the enclave homeless and destitute.