In a significant development in the ongoing conflict, Israel has made a notable shift from previously stated war aims.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, that Israel’s security cabinet has expanded its war objectives to include the “safe return of the residents of the north [of Israel] to their homes.”

Israel’s new war goal, approved during an overnight meeting of the Prime Minister’s security cabinet, joins three previously stated “conditions for ending the war,” as outlined by Netanyahu’s office in June.

These were the “destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah opened a second war front with Israel in solidarity with the people of Gaza a day after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

Escalating cross-border attacks in the months since have seen many northern Israeli communities evacuated.

While Hezbollah officials said the fighting would stop should a cease-fire in Gaza be reached, Israel says it cannot allow militants to threaten its territory from Lebanon’s south.

Israel’s new war goal seeks to address immediate security and military concerns. It acknowledges that for true security to be achieved, it must also consider the restoration of normalcy and the reintegration of affected communities.

By incorporating the safe return of residents into its war goals, Israel is signaling a commitment not only to military success but also to the restoration of societal stability.

Nonetheless, the impact of this new objective remains to be seen.

On Monday, Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant told US envoy Amos Hochstein the only way to return residents evacuated from northern Israel is through military action.

“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict,” a statement from Gallant’s office said.

Netanyahu later told Hochstein that he seeks a “fundamental change” in the security situation on Israel’s northern border.

Israel To Become Pariah Over Gaza Genocide

Meanwhile, United Nations human rights experts warned that Israel risks becoming an international “pariah” over its “genocide” in Gaza, suggesting that the country’s UN membership could be called into question.

On Monday, several independent UN experts decried what they said was Israel’s escalating violence and rights violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, its disregard for international court rulings and its verbal attacks on the UN itself.

“I think it is unavoidable for Israel to become a pariah in the face of its continuous, relentless, vilifying assault of the United Nations, on top of millions of Palestinians,” Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said, citing verbal and military attacks on UN facilities in Gaza.

“Should there be a consideration of its membership as part of this organisation, which Israel seems to have zero respect for?”.
Francesca Albanese

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza after more than 11 months of conflict has also prompted questions about Western states’ longstanding political and military support for Israel, including from the United States and the United Kingdom, which both provide arms.

“Shockingly, in the face of the abyss reached in [occupied Palestinian territory] … most member states remained inactive at best, or actively aiding and assisting Israel’s criminal conduct,” Albanese stated.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer, said she was referring to Western states as well as some Gulf nations and others.

Israel denies allegations of genocide and says that it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and that at least a third of the 41,118 Palestinians killed in Gaza were fighters.