During a meeting with a senior advisor to President Biden on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that “military action” against Hezbollah was the “only way” to return residents to their homes in the north.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with both Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to prevent a wider conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed terrorist groups.

However, Israeli officials remained firm in their stance on handling Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north, noting that time was running out to secure a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Gaza, particularly as Hezbollah continues to align itself with Hamas.

Gallant told Hochstein that Jerusalem needed to “change the security situation on the northern border,” although he did not provide specifics about what this would entail.

For months, Israeli security experts have been warning that Jerusalem faces a far greater threat along its northern border, as Hezbollah, already better financially supported and militarily equipped than other Iranian proxy forces like Hamas, has been gaining power for decades.

Israeli citizens, following the devastating attacks by Hamas in the south on October 7, 2023, fear a similar attack could be carried out by Hezbollah.

Additional evacuations have been ordered by government officials along the northern border as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah regularly engage in cross-border skirmishes.

It remains unclear how many Israeli residents have been displaced since the outbreak of the war against Hamas almost a year ago, although some estimates suggest that…

“We are engaged in a multi-front campaign against Iran’s axis of evil, which is seeking our destruction,” Netanyahu said. “I am attentive to the residents of the north.

“I see their distress. I hear their anguish. The current situation will not persist,” he added. “This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.

“I am committed to this. The government is committed to this, and we will not accept anything less than this,” Netanyahu warned.

Israeli officials have shown growing resistance to a ceasefire deal with Hamas and have stated that no agreement can be reached without the return of all hostages, despite pressure from the Biden administration.

Netanyahu has also expressed significant security concerns that cannot be compromised for the sake of a ceasefire, such as the continued presence of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, which runs along the border with Egypt.

Following Monday’s meeting between Netanyahu and Hochstein, the prime minister, according to a summary of the exchange, said Israel “appreciates and respects the support of the United States,” but added that Jerusalem “will do whatever is necessary to maintain its security and return the residents of the north to their homes safely.”

‘ Yonat Friling contributed to this article.