IDF may have already begun small raids on Hezbollah in south Lebanon – reports
US network says potential ground offensive would likely be limited, while NYT claims Israeli commandos have penetrated ‘deep into the country’ for ‘sensitive intelligence missions’
The Israel Defense Forces may have begun or is about to begin small operations across the Lebanon border to take out nearby Hezbollah positions, according to two US reports, which come amid a string of punishing Israeli attacks against the Iran-backed terror group that began amid the detonation on September 17 of thousands of pagers held by Hezbollah members.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the device explosions, but launched an air campaign the following day on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the terror group’s stronghold in southern Beirut. A massive strike in the Lebanese capital on Friday killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah along with other top commanders of the terror group and an Iranian general.
Two US officials told ABC News that Israel does not appear to have decided whether to launch a full ground operation into Lebanon, but that it would likely be limited in scope if it does.
Referring to small-scale “border movements,” the report quoted the officials as saying that for Israel to fulfill its new war aim of enabling around 60,000 displaced northern residents to return home, decapitating the Hezbollah leadership will not be enough.
In order to achieve that goal, the IDF is damaging Hezbollah’s command and control, destroying its capabilities in the border area, and removing the threat of an invasion planned by the terror group’s Radwan Force.
In the second US report, The New York Times said on Sunday that Israel has been working since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to build up a formidable intelligence apparatus that deeply penetrated Hezbollah.
The report claimed that Israel has sent undercover commandos “deep into the country” to carry out “sensitive intelligence missions,” quoting officials as saying that the military’s willingness to carry out daring missions sets it apart from other countries’ intelligence agencies and units.
While Israel has not announced a ground incursion into Lebanon, there have been reports of incidents across the border ever since Hezbollah-led forces began attacking communities and military posts in northern Israel on October 8, purportedly to support Gaza amid the war against Hamas there.
In April, four IDF soldiers were wounded in a blast that occurred as troops operated inside Lebanese territory. The military said at the time that the incident took place during “operational activity” carried out by troops of the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, on the Lebanese side of the border, several hundred meters from Israel’s fence.
Claiming the blast, Hezbollah said it had placed several explosive devices adjacent to the border, inside Lebanese territory, in an area across from the northern Israeli community of Adamit.
Since this month’s escalation, with Israeli airstrikes on the terror group this week killing more than 700 people in Lebanon, the US has repeatedly voiced opposition to any IDF ground invasion to target Hezbollah, calling instead for a diplomatic solution.
On Friday, before the Beirut strike that killed Nasrallah, the military said that it had “great confidence” in its ability to carry out a ground maneuver, following experience gained by troops during the past 11 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF indicated that a ground offensive in Lebanon had been fully planned out, and it was being practiced by troops even as fighting was ongoing on several fronts.
The plans included operations in areas near the border as well as deep within Lebanon, according to the military. Still, officials have said the IDF aims for a ground operation to be as short as possible.
Once the fighting is over, the IDF said that it would need to enforce any ceasefire agreement with firepower and prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing itself close to Israeli border communities.
Also on Friday, the IDF said it had completed the mobilization of two reserve brigades — the Etzioni and Alon brigades — that were sent to northern Israel to bolster troops there, amid the possibility of a ground offensive.
