Without hostage deal, Israel should start war against Hezbollah ‘within days or weeks,’ says former War Cabinet minister

Benny Gantz says time for ‘action in the north’ has come, residents must return

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Israel should go on the offensive against Hezbollah within “days or a few weeks,” former War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said during the MEAD Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

“The time for action in the North has come – if we do not reach a deal for the hostages within days or a few weeks, we will have to go to war in the North,” said the chairman of the National Unity Party.

“In Gaza, we have crossed a decisive point of the campaign,” he said. “We can conduct anything we want in Gaza. We should seek to have a deal to get out our hostages but if we cannot in the coming time, a few days or few weeks, or whatever it is, we should go up north.”

His comments came as officials in the U.S. and Israel both said the ongoing hostage deal negotiations appear to be stuck.

Gantz also noted that Israel’s security policy should change permanently in the aftermath of Oct. 7.

Shortly after the Hamas invasion, Gantz and his party joined an emergency unity government, which they left in June. He admitted that mistakes were made during the initial response, for which he was partly responsible.

“I think we made a mistake by evacuating such a large portion of the population. We should have only evacuated the towns and kibbutzim near the border,” he said, adding that the uncertainty at the beginning of the war contributed to the decision.

Israel evacuated an estimated 80,000 residents of towns and communities up to 5km (3 miles) from the border, including the city of Kiryat Shmona. Around 60,000 residents are still displaced, mostly living in hotels subsidized by the government.

Noting the urgency of the situation in the north, Gantz reiterated his opinion that Israel should agree to a hostage deal, even at a high cost, so it can focus its efforts on the northern border.

“We must ensure that residents can return to their homes. We can achieve this goal, even if it means damaging Lebanon itself. Unfortunately, I don’t see another way.”

“We must now move toward a resolution where we proactively strike in response to any violation or threat to our borders, especially the threat of infiltrations into our towns,” Gantz said.

The root of the problem is Iran's involvement in conflicts across the Middle East and beyond, the former IDF chief of staff stressed.

“Hezbollah is certainly an operational threat, but we must focus on the root problem – Iran,” Gantz said, noting the regime’s influence in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and the Russia-Ukraine war.

“If another nuclear deal is on the table, it must not have the loopholes of the previous one regarding enrichment and launch capabilities. It must include strict restrictions on Iran's funding and use of proxies. Iran is a global and regional challenge, not just an Israeli problem.”

After a temporary lull in attacks by Hezbollah following a large-scale Israeli pre-emptive strike that destroyed dozens of its launch sites, the terror group resumed its continuous attacks at the same daily rate as before.

In recent days, Israeli threats against the Hezbollah terror group have escalated, with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi explicitly warning that the army is “preparing for offensive moves” inside Lebanon.

Echoing Gantz's comments, Likud Knesset Member Nissim Vaturi of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told KAN News on Monday that an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah is “a matter of days.”

“There is no other way,” Vaturi said, adding that Hezbollah's stronghold in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut “will look like Gaza.”

This week, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou-Habib told Al Jazeera that “Israel conveyed a message to us through intermediaries that it is not interested in a cease-fire in Lebanon, even after a cease-fire in Gaza.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in the past, has rejected comments made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah tying a truce in the Gaza War to a ceasefire in the north.

Gallant stressed that Israel would continue to pursue a solution to the situation there, including the secure return of the residents, regardless of what happens on the Gaza front.