Former Defense Minister Gantz Says Israel Is Late In Diverting His Attention To Lebanon

JAKARTA - Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel should shift its focus to Hezbollah and the Lebanese border, warning "we are too late on this."

Iran-backed Israel and Hezbollah have been attacking each other almost every day, with the Lebanese militant group saying they are acting to support its Palestinian ally Hamas in the ongoing war in Gaza.

"We have enough troops to confront Gaza and we have to concentrate on what is happening in the north," Gantz said, speaking in Washington, DC at a Middle Eastern forum.

In the forum, the man who once served as Israel's Chief of Staff Defense Forces (IDF) also said Iran and its proxies were "the real problem."

"It's time for the north to arrive and actually I think we're late on this," he said.

Gantz said Israel made a mistake by evacuating most of the country's northern territory as hostilities with Hezbollah flared up following a Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the Gaza war.

"In Gaza, we have passed a decisive point in this campaign," he said.

"We can do whatever we want in Gaza. We have to try to reach an agreement to free our hostages, but if we can't do it in the near future, days or weeks, or whatever it is, we have to go north," Gantz explained.

"We are able to attack Lebanese countries if needed. The story of Hamas is old news," he added, saying instead "the story of Iran and its proxies across the region and what they are trying to do is the real problem."