Israel’s fight in Lebanon is becoming increasingly widespread. For the first time, there are now concrete estimates of the number of Israeli soldiers in the neighboring country.
The Israeli army has expanded its operations against the Hezbollah militia to southwest Lebanon. The army’s 146th division carried out “targeted” attacks on Hezbollah’s “terrorist targets” and “infrastructure” in southwest Lebanon on Monday, the Israeli army said in the Telegram online service. Accordingly, the attacks by the Israeli army are now also expected to hit positions of the pro-Iranian militia on the Lebanese Mediterranean coast.
The military said the 146th Division was the first reserve division to operate against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The association was previously deployed in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel wants to secure its northern border with Lebanon
The army also called on civilians in the coastal region to leave their homes. The armed forces had already announced on Monday that they would expand their operations to seaside areas south of the Al-Awali River. On the Israeli side, they also declared the coastal area around the small town of Shlomi a “military restricted area”.
Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel with air strikes one day after the major Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. As a result of the attacks, numerous people on both sides of the border had to leave their homes; tens of thousands of people were affected on the Israeli side alone.
According to the Israeli army, the declared aim of the attacks against Hezbollah is to secure the northern border with Lebanon – and thus enable people affected by evacuations to return to their homes in northern Israel.
Probably over 15,000 soldiers deployed
Israel had increased its attacks against Hezbollah targets since the end of September, killing Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and other high-ranking militia commanders. About a week ago, Israel also announced the start of “limited and targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has not released figures on how many of its soldiers are deployed in Lebanon. The Times of Israel news portal reported that there were “probably more than 15,000” soldiers.
Source: Stern
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