Israeli Knesset member Nissim Vaturi said in a radio interview on Sunday, reported by Maariv newspaper, that the intention is to go to war in the north after the release of prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Regarding Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Vaturi said: “We may eliminate him if we have no choice.”

Israel faces dozens of rockets fired daily by Hezbollah towards Israeli camps and settlements, and Benjamin Netanyahu's government has previously threatened that it will devote itself to dealing with Lebanese threats completely after it ends its war on the Gaza Strip.

In this regard, Vaturi, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said, "The intention is to go to war in the north after returning the kidnapped soldiers from Gaza."

He added that although he is against replacing Defense Minister Yoav Galant in a time of war, “there is no other choice when the north collapses.” Regarding Galant’s statements in which he said, “We will return Lebanon to the Middle Ages,” Vaturi said, “We must stop talking and start doing things, and show them what they deserve. We must stay in the north and restore security. This is a war in which there was no choice from the beginning.”

He continued, "I know there is pressure from the Americans, but we must stand firm in our position, just as we entered Khan Yunis and Rafah despite the Americans' opposition. This is how you win the war."

Hamas' arm

The Knesset member described the demonstrators in Israel who are demanding an immediate deal to return the prisoners as "an arm of Hamas" and said that they are "dancing on the blood of the kidnapped" and stressed that "this should not continue and must stop", considering that they are "continuously destroying the prisoner exchange agreement", he claimed.

He stressed that they want to "liberate the kidnapped and then go to war in the north," adding, "We know exactly where Hassan Nasrallah sits. This is the direction in the coming days. We may eliminate him if there is no choice."

Regarding the head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli Knesset member said, “We will reach him as well. He has become alone in leading Hamas.”