Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced on Tuesday that the next war his country wages will most likely take place on three fronts at the same time. He explained that the northern front will no longer be limited to a war against the “Hezbollah” group in Lebanon, but it will also encompass Syria. "In the next war in the north of the country, Lebanon will not be the only front," Lieberman said in a speech to soldiers. Lebanon and Syria would constitute "one front" against his country, he explained, while making implicit threats to the Lebanese government and army. The minister added that the Lebanese army had lost "its independence by becoming an integral part of ‘Hezbollah’." Lieberman evoked the possibility of a simultaneous conflict in the north and in the south with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "The battle will take place on the northern and southern fronts," he said. "There is no longer war on one front. Its our basic assumption and it is what our military is preparing for." He stated however that his country was exerting great efforts to prevent a new war, but given the “new Middle East, chances of avoiding such a conflict are slim.” “We have to prepare for any possible scenario, because the new reality presents us with new challenges. In the past, we used to speak of a Lebanese front, but this is no longer the case,” continued Lieberman. The new northern front now includes Lebanon and Syria, he stressed. “I hope that our enemies on the other side would think very well before making any move against Israel,” warned the minister.