[IsraelTimes] As cross-border attacks escalate, army spokesman Daniel Hagari says ‘one way or another we will ensure the safe return of Israelis to their homes — that is not up for negotiation’
CBS News reported that US officials were also increasingly concerned that an all-out war could break out after eight months of skirmishes, since Hezbollah began attacking Israel in October in support of the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
In light of the US concerns, the Axios news site reported Friday that Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, will arrive in Israel on Monday to try to put a lid on the escalation.
Hagari said Hezbollah “has been escalating its attacks against Israel. Since deciding to join the war that Hamas started on October 7th, Hezbollah has fired over 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles, and explosive UAVs from Lebanon at Israeli families, homes, and communities.”
He said it was “jeopardizing the future of Lebanon so that it can be a shield for Hamas. A shield for the Hamas terrorists who murdered the elderly, raped women, burned children, and kidnapped Jews, Muslims, and Christians, during their massacre on October 7th.”
“When we say that we will not let October 7th happen again on any one of our borders, we mean it,” Hagari added.
Noting Hezbollah’s “refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” which ended the Second Lebanon War and mandated that the terror group withdraw north of the Litani River, Hagari said that “because of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, weapons and fire at Israel from the area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, and because of Lebanon’s failure to enforce 1701 on Hezbollah, Israel will take the necessary measures to protect its civilians, until security along our border with Lebanon is restored.”
The skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 342 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 63 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed. 
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