Israel close to completing Gaza missions, focus on north, defence minister says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces are near to fulfilling their mission in Gaza and their focus will turn to the country's northern border with Lebanon as daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah take place, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday

"The centre of gravity is moving northward, we are near to completing our tasks in the south, but our mission here is not yet done," Gallant told troops on Israel's northern border in a video sent by his office.

Gallant was attending a ground combat drill, his office said.

"These instructions that you are waiting for here today, I gave in the south and saw the forces operate," Gallant said referring to Israel's ground invasion of the Gaza Strip three weeks after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the war.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8 and the two sides have been trading fire since, with tens of thousands of civilians displaced on both sides of the border.

Israeli leaders have said they would prefer to resolve the conflict through an agreement that would push Iran-backed Hezbollah away from the border. Hezbollah has said that it will continue fighting Israel as long as the war in Gaza is ongoing.

In separate remarks to journalists on Tuesday, Gallant said:

"While we pursue an agreement, I have directed the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) to prepare for every scenario, including directing our attention to the northern arena. We are committed to changing the security situation on the northern front and to bringing our citizens home safely."

The Israli military on Tuesday said it killed a commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan force. The group confirmed his death but not his role and said it fired rockets at Israeli army targets across the border in retaliation.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Editing by James Mackenzie and Angus MacSwan)