Israel is apparently about to launch a major campaign against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The army leadership has now approved “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon.”
Against the backdrop of ongoing firefights between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli army has “approved and released” an operational plan for an offensive in Lebanon. As the military announced, this was explained by leading army representatives at a joint situation assessment in the Northern Command. The troops’ operational readiness will be further increased. Foreign Minister Israel Katz had previously threatened the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah with destruction in a “total war”.
“We are approaching the point where we will decide to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Katz’s office said on Tuesday. “In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard.”
Israel’s army reacts to Hezbollah video
The comments came after Hezbollah released a video that the militia said showed drone footage of key military and energy infrastructure in Haifa, Israel. This was perceived as a threat in Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also recently stressed that the army was ready for intensive deployment in Lebanon should this become necessary. US diplomat Amos Hochstein called for a de-escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border during a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday. He had previously met with Israeli government representatives.
Since the war in the Gaza Strip began more than eight months ago, there have been repeated shellings on the border between Israel and Lebanon. There, the Shiite Hezbollah militia, supported by Iran, regularly exchanges fire with the Israeli army in order to support its Islamist ally Hamas.
After a high-ranking Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli attack, the militia increased its attacks on northern Israel last week.
Source: Stern
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