Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant during a discussion with troops in the IDF’s Armored Corps, deployed to Israel’s northern border,
Photo: GPO, Ariel Hermoni
Israeli special forces began carrying out “small, targeted raids” in southern Lebanon in preparation for a larger-scale entrance of ground forces into the country, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ reported that the IDF’s limited raids have focused on intelligence gathering and force probing, including entering some of the Hezbollah tunnels located on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Israeli leaders have increasingly signaled an imminent ground incursion in recent weeks, even before the pager strikes or launch of Operation Northern Arrows.
Opposition politicians have expressed their support for a ground incursion aimed at pushing Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River, as demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
The remarkable unity among Israeli politicians on this issue may spell trouble for the United States and Western attempts to dissuade Israel from entering Lebanon.
On Sunday, opposition Democrats party leader, Yair Golan, said Israeli’s northern residents could not return to their homes as long as Hezbollah continues to pose a threat.
In an interview on Army Radio, Golan said, “A ground invasion of Lebanon is necessary in order to ensure that there is no Hezbollah presence south of the Litani River.”
Opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid called for Israel to continue striking Hezbollah while also pursuing diplomatic options.
U.S. and Western leaders are concerned about the possibility of a broader regional war or a continued IDF presence in Lebanon, as in the First Lebanon War, when Israeli forces maintained control of southern Lebanon for almost two decades.
Preparations for an IDF incursion into Lebanon represent a dramatic reversal of the situation from a few months ago when Hezbollah was threatening to invade northern Israel.
According to Walla News, Israel has ramped up its information-gathering efforts in recent weeks to obtain precise intelligence on the positions of Radwan Force units and changes within Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon.
The IDF also began gathering forces in the north, including calling up several reserve brigades and conducting training operations in preparation for ground operations inside Lebanon.
On Monday morning, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops in the north, telling them, “The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one. In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you,” Gallant said while speaking to troops of the 188th Armored Brigade and Golani Infantry Brigade.
According to security assessments, there is broad consensus among the IDF leadership and the political echelon that a ground operation will be necessary to remove the Hezbollah threat from Israel’s northern border.
A security source told Walla that some IDF units are already undergoing intense advanced combat training in preparation. “The ground maneuver is intended to destroy targets but also to project to the Middle East the strength and might of the IDF, to Hezbollah and also internally to the entire army,” he said.
One area of focus for the IDF is Hezbollah tunnels designed to enable forces to approach the border rapidly while avoiding fire from IDF positions.
Metula Mayor David Azoulay spoke about Hezbollah’s tunnels in an interview on Radio North 104.5 FM.
“We know that there are tunnels up near the border, but we don’t know if the tunnels cross it,” Azoulay said.
Israeli security officials have said that eliminating high-level Hezbollah senior operatives is of limited value in returning the evacuated citizens to their homes in the northern communities.
Officials say the real threat is the Hezbollah munitions in southern Lebanon, which can strike across the border in seconds. To remove that threat, a ground incursion will likely be necessary.
On Sunday, ABC News reported that Israel may have already begun small-scale “border movements” aimed at targeting Hezbollah positions along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Israel appears to be ready to capitalize on the momentum it has gained through the significant attacks on Hezbollah over the past couple of weeks, including the exploding pagers, and the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike in Beirut last Friday.
