War with Hezbollah ‘lies in Israel’s hands’

It’s unclear whether Hezbollah would agree to any peace deal with Israel. But Netanyahu doesn’t want to pull out of Gaza: He seemingly rejected the cease-fire proposal that’s on the table, saying that he’s willing to make a partial deal with Hamas but will continue the war after the truce is made. Today, he walked back the comment and said he backs the proposal.

Without a deal between Israel and Hezbollah to keep things at bay, it’s likely that the Israel Defense Forces presence in Gaza will shrink considerably in the coming weeks as Netanyahu’s priorities shift, JONATHAN LORD, a former Defense Department official, told NatSec Daily. It’ll be clear that an Israeli operation is imminent when IDF reserves are called up and active duty troops see some rest and refit time, he added.

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