Posted on 09/09/24
| News Source: JPost
Former head of the National Security Council and Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) fellow Yaakov Amidror spoke on the state of affairs in the fight against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon in a recent interview with Radio 103FM.
"The intense phase of the fighting is behind us, and now we must ensure that Hamas does not rebuild itself as a major threat," he said.
"The IDF must maintain operational flexibility and be able to act in accordance with the needs on the ground," Amidror added.
Concerning the October 7 failures, Amidror stated, "There is no direct connection between the failure that day and what the IDF is doing now. Most of the officers and fighters in Gaza today are not responsible for the failure of October 7," he noted, adding that these were two different issues.
Regarding the West Bank, he stated that while Israel needed to destroy the terror infrastructure that has been built in the area, the Palestinians' capabilities there do not pose a critical threat to Israel.
In the North, Amidror said the threat from Hezbollah was of more significance. "If Hezbollah launches an attack, cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa will be under heavy fire, which may result in many casualties on the home front."
Amidror also referred to the evacuation of the residents, saying that this does not indicate the defeat of Zionism. "The decision to evacuate the citizens is a consideration of protecting them and making sure that the operation in Gaza is completed before decisions are made on further operations in Lebanon."
He also addressed the need to prepare for war with Hezbollah in Lebanon as soon as possible.
"The situation across our border is getting worse, with Iran building up power. We did not take significant actions to deal with the threat, and we should have started acting against Hezbollah long before October 7," he noted.