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Israel is planning to invade Lebanon to drive Hezbollah from its northern border, reportedly amid a spate of rocket attacks since war broke out in Gaza and fears the terrorist group is “worse than Hamas.”
After weeks of cross-border gunfire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are said to be eager to launch a ground offensive in southern Lebanon that would aim to push the terrorist group northwards beyond the Litani River.
Israeli military and government officials have said they are determined to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 invasion from Gaza, with warnings that the scale of a Hezbollah incursion could be even deadlier than the massacre of 1,200 people.
“What happened in the south is nothing compared to what they were able to do here,” said a senior Israeli officer. The times. “The Israeli doctrine is to take the war to the other side.”
It comes as Israel’s war in Gaza continues, with new attacks overnight across the besieged Strip, including an attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in the north that killed 90 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesman said. .
Black smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, a Lebanese village bordering Israel in southern Lebanon, Monday, November 13, 2023.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
Israeli Merkava tanks take part in a military drill near the Lebanese border in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on October 24, 2023.
Fears have grown that Israel’s war against Hamas, which has killed more than 18,800 Palestinians in “indiscriminate” attacks on Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, could escalate into a regional conflict.
Funded by Iran, Hezbollah has been building its military force over years, amassing a huge arsenal of some 100,000 rockets that could “overwhelm” Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
Border tensions have increased over the past 70 days, reviving memories of Hezbollah’s devastating war against Israel in 2006, which killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers. .
The conflict ended thanks to a UN ceasefire resolution that agreed that all armed forces, except UN peacekeepers and the official Lebanese army, would be moved north of the Litani River.
But instead, over the next few years, Hezbollah remained in the south and built its fortifications near the borders, claiming it was protecting against the Israeli threat.
A map showing the Litani River in Lebanon, which according to a 2006 UN ceasefire resolution non-governmental forces should be turned away from
Israeli and Lebanese civilians have been killed in constant attacks, and residents living in border communities have been evacuated en masse in recent weeks.
The two sides have continued to exchange threats, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly boasting that his group’s weapons could penetrate deep into Israeli territory.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, warned that Hezbollah was “dragging Lebanon into an unnecessary war that would have devastating consequences.”
Benny Gantz, a former Israeli prime minister who sits in Netanyahu’s war cabinet, warned: “If the world doesn’t push Hezbollah away from the border, Israel will.”
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have exchanged fire along the border almost every day since the war began, and other Iranian-backed militant groups have attacked US targets in Syria and Iraq.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have attacked ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, presenting it as a blockade on Israel.
An attack on what the Israel Defense Forces say is a Hezbollah target in a location designated as Lebanon
Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon gather to attend a ceremony honoring fighters killed in the recent escalation with Israel last month.
Nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the war, and this has been the deadliest year for Palestinians there since 2005.
Most have died during Israeli military raids, which often spark gunfights, or during violent demonstrations.
American defense leaders hope to prevent the risk of a broader regional conflict, both through a sustained high level of American military presence and by urging Israel to reduce operations.
President Joe Biden has warned that Israel is losing international support due to its “indiscriminate bombings.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last week that his country would continue major combat operations against Hamas for several more months.