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In a meeting with a top adviser to President Biden on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that “military action” against Hezbollah was the “only way” to safely return its citizens to their northern homes. 

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with both Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to avoid a broader conflict between the Jewish state and the Iran-backed terrorist groups.

But Israeli officials appeared steadfast in their position on handling Hamas to the south and Hezbollah to the north, and noted the time to secure a cease-fire agreement to end the war in Gaza was running out, particularly as Hezbollah continues to “tie itself” to Hamas.

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Instead, Gallant told Hochstein that Jerusalem needed to “change the security situation on the northern border,” though he did not detail what this would entail.

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

Israeli citizens fled their homes in the north following the catastrophic attacks by Hamas in the south on Oct. 7, 2023, fearing a similar attack could be carried out by Hezbollah.

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

Israeli soldiers evacuate an injured man following a cross-border attack from Lebanon into Israel, Sept. 1, 2024. (Reuters/Ayal Margolin)

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It is unclear how many Israeli residents have been displaced since the onslaught of the war against Hamas nearly one year ago, though some estimates suggest that figure could be as high as 80,000.

“We are in a multi-front campaign against Iran’s axis of evil, which is striving for our destruction,” Netanyahu said following Houthi and Hezbollah missile strikes on Sunday. “I am attentive to the residents of the north. 

“I see their distress. I hear their anguish. The current situation will not continue,” 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 suffice with less than this,” Netanyahu warned. 

Israeli officials have shown increasing resistance to a cease-fire deal with Hamas and have said no deal can be reached without the return of all hostages, despite pressure from the Biden administration. 

An explosion takes place as Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, as seen from Zibqin, Lebanon, Aug. 25, 2024. (Reuters TV via Reuters)

Netanyahu has also said there are major security concerns that cannot be compromised for the sake of a cease-fire, like the continued presence of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, which runs along the border with Egypt.

Following the Monday meeting between Netanyahu and Hochstein, the prime minister, according to a readout 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.”

Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this article.

Youth brain drain is becoming one of the most worrisome problems for Western Balkan countries. 

All six countries of the region — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia — rank among the top brain drain leaders in the world due to the pace and intensity of the phenomenon within their borders. 

They could lose between an estimated 25%-50% of their skilled and educated workforce in the forthcoming decades, according to the research of the German Marshall Fund. 

Young Macedonians who spoke to Euronews said they were disappointed by the level of corruption in the country as well as the absence of opportunities and perspectives. 

“You still see corrupt institutions, you do not see any rule of law, you do not see any improvement in terms of the economy or education, and that’s the first thing,” Petar Barlakovski, who studied in the UK, said.

“When one cannot see that the European Union is close, that it’s far, it is just as it was 10 years ago, one asks the question, is there a future in this country,” he added.

The Macedonian Ministry of Education spends millions of euros on scholarships for young people but then reportedly shows no interest in them, according to experts.

Risto Saveski, president of the Youth Educational Forum, told Euronews the ministry does not have evidence of how many students finish their studies abroad and whether they have returned to North Macedonia. 

The Western Balkan countries are rapidly losing their population. 

In the last three decades, due to massive emigration, Serbia has lost 9% of its citizens, North Macedonia lost 10%, while 24% left Bosnia and 37% departed from Albania. 

To find out more, watch the Euronews report in the player above.