Israeli president: ‘We did not want this war’ with Hezbollah

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a Sunday interview that his country is “absolutely not” looking to escalate tensions with Hezbollah into a full-blown war but that it was committed to ensuring the safe return for the tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes near the northern border with Lebanon.

In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Herzog said Israel did not want the war and added, “But if it’s waged against us, we go all the way.”

“Absolutely not. We did not want this war. We’re not seeking war,” Herzog told anchor Margaret Brennan when asked whether Israel was trying to escalate the conflict into a broader war in light of its latest operation against thousands of Hezbollah fighters and recent strike killing commanders.

“This war was waged upon us by the proxies of the empire of evil of Iran, on October 7 by Hamas, and on October 8 by Hezbollah. And ever since, from Lebanon in the north, and, of course, from Hamas in the south and all over the Middle East, the proxies of Iran are attacking and attacking now,” he continued.

Herzog noted that, even as Israeli forces have prioritized operations in Gaza, Hezbollah has not ceased to fire missiles into northern Israel, which has displaced what Herzog said amounted to 100,000 Israelis from their homes.

While the war in Gaza is not yet over, Hamas has been degraded and no longer poses the threat it once did, freeing up Israeli resources. Israel this past week moved an elite paratrooper and combat unit, the 98th Division, to the north, according to The Associated Press. That unit played a key role in Gaza operations.

The Israeli government updated its official goals in its ongoing war in Gaza to include an additional goal of allowing residents in northern Israel to return home safely after being displaced by Hezbollah, The Times of Israel reported.

Herzog doubled down on this commitment in the interview.

“Life has been shattered in our northern border. I don’t think any American would have accepted it as a kind of a status quo situation in the United States. And at the end, there are things that must be done,” he said.

“The duty of a government or a nation is to take care of its citizens and bring them back home,” he said, adding that it’s been nearly one year since the Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. “We have 101 hostages in the dungeons in Gaza already waiting and waiting, and we are pleading for them.”

Herzog praised the United States and the Biden administration for its efforts in negotiating toward a diplomatic solution, but he expressed skepticism that that prospect was within reach.

“We never said that we don’t want a diplomatic agreement. On the contrary, there is a very able American envoy, Amos Hochstein, the president’s adviser, who’s trying to go back and forth between us and the Lebanese,” he said.

“But truly, let’s understand the situation. When you’re dealing with terror organizations, they don’t really give a damn about international affairs. They take hostages, or they fire as much as they want,” he said.

“Now we agree, time and again, to go into rounds of talks. We support and welcome the efforts by the United States of America and the administration. Truly. We respect it tremendously,” he added. “But at the end of it, OK, Mr. Hochstein leaves Israel, and they keep on firing and firing, and that cannot go on forever, because our citizens must go back home.”