The likelihood that Israel will be drawn into a full-scale war in Lebanon is increasing following the latest exchange of rocket fire between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, Israel’s top general said.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the IDF chief of staff, made the grim evaluation on Wednesday while visiting troops stationed near the Lebanese border, the Times of Israel reported.

“I don’t know when the war in the north is,” Gen. Halevi said. “I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past.”

Israeli soldiers are conducting maneuvers in preparation for offensive operations inside Lebanon even as the IDF begins to wind down its most intense combat operations inside the Gaza Strip. The goal was to stabilize the border and allow tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north to return home, Gen. Halevi said.

“We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza. Many of them are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon,” he said.

An estimated 80,000 Israelis living in the north have been displaced from their homes as a result of the near-daily cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants. Israeli and Hezbollah forces have regularly exchanged missile strikes since the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas into southern Israel set off a new round of fighting in Gaza.

Gen. Halevi said the Israel Defense Forces have a “very clear goal in Lebanon — to return the residents to the north, all the communities in the north,” the Times of Israel reported.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.