Israeli defense minister: A ‘new phase of war’ has begun

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said its war in the region is entering a “new phase,” hours after announcing Israeli troops would be moved to the north of the country and a second wave of explosions rocked Lebanon.

“In a conversation with the Air Force personnel at the Ramat David base, I emphasized: We are opening a new phase in the war,” Gallant said Wednesday in a statement on social media.

“The center of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of forces and resources,” he added. Northern Israel shares a border with Lebanon, home to the Hezbollah movement, with whom Israel has exchanged rocket fire almost daily over the past year.

This week, pagers and walkie-talkies, some of them belonging to Hezbollah members, exploded in a sophisticated, remotely coordinated attack, killing over a dozen people including children and injuring thousands.

The Lebanese Red Cross said it was responding to “multiple explosions in different areas” and remained on high alert.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the bloodshed, which has been widely condemned, including by the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Lebanese prime minister described the attacks as a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards.”

Slovenian U.N. Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, who is currently presiding over the 15-member Security Council, said the body will meet Friday to discuss the pager blasts.

The fresh round of violence has escalated already-high tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

“We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated,” Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said after approving new operational plans at Israel’s Northern Command on Wednesday.

“We are almost a year [into] the war fighting in Gaza,” he said, adding that while Israel has two main goals — dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages — “there are many more.”

“The price for Hezbollah has to be high,” Halevi added.