The Israeli Defense Force is moving military might toward Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said, as it announced a “new phase” of the war on Hamas. Israel is now focusing its force on Hezbollah, Gallant added.

While speaking to troops at the Ramat David Airbase near Haifa, Gallant said that this “new phase” of Israel’s almost year-long war was just beginning and it would be focused on Hezbollah rather than Hamas. “The center of gravity is moving north. We are diverting forces, resources, and energy toward the north,” he said, according to a statement published on social media by his office.

UN Says 6 Refugee Workers Were Killed In An Israeli Strike on Gaza

Hezbollah has waged a low-intensity military campaign against Israel since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began bombing Gaza almost a year ago. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that his goal is to tie up Israeli forces near the Israel-Lebanon border in order to prevent their deployment to Gaza, but Israeli officials – including Gallant – have threatened on multiple occasions to launch a major offensive into Lebanon in response. –RT

The most recent strike by Hezbollah apparently came on Tuesday, when thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members spontaneously detonated across Lebanon, killing at least a dozen people, including two children, and wounding around 3,000 others. A second wave of explosions took place on Wednesday, this time targeting handheld walkie-talkies. Wednesday’s blasts killed at least 14 people and injured nearly 500.

While Israeli officials have not specifically commented on the explosions, Lebanese, Israeli, and American sources have all identified Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency as the culprit. According to U.S. and Israeli sources interviewed by Axios, Mossad rigged thousands of the communications devices to blow, intending to remotely trigger the explosions as the first blow in a full-scale war with Hezbollah.

UN Says 6 Refugee Workers Were Killed In An Israeli Strike on Gaza