Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, (L) told Israeli troops near the Israel-Lebanon border to prepare for a potential ground offensive. Photo courtesy of Israel Defense Force/Website
Sept. 26 (UPI) — Israel is preparing for a potential ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the head of Israel’s military said, as world leaders seek to secure a halt in the fighting.
The announcement came in a speech Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, gave to troops Wednesday during a visit to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
“You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day,” he said, according to a statement from the IDF. “This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.”
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging attacks over the Lebanese border since Oct. 8, a day after Israel’s war with Hamas, another Iran-backed militia, began when the militant group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 251 others.
Fears of the conflict devolving into an all-out war have skyrocketed since last week when communications devices held by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon exploded in an daring, coordinated attack blamed on Israel, leading to further intensification of the cross-border fighting.
At the same time those explosives, surreptitiously planted within the communications devices, detonated, Israel said its Security Cabinet updated the objectives of the war against Hamas to include returning tens of thousands of Israelis, evacuated due to the Lebanon border fighting, to their northern Israel homes.
Hezbollah has responded by continuing its cross-border barrages of Israel.
Halevi told his troops Wednesday to be prepared, for the goal of the potential ground incursion would be to make the area safe for northern Israelis to return to their homes.
“We are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points and launchpads into our territory and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians,” he said.
“Your entry into those areas with force, your encounter with Hezbollah operatives, will show them what it means to face a professional, highly skilled and battle-experienced force.
“You will go in, destroy the enemy there and decisively destroy their infrastructure.”
Prior to Halevi’s speech, the IDF announced that it was calling up two reserve brigades for “operational missions in the northern arena.”
The announcement is expected to increase already sky-high fears of the conflict turning into a full-fledged war. Later Wednesday, the United States said it and its allies are pushing for a 21-day cease-fire along the Lebanon border in order to create a window in which to negotiate an end to the fighting.
Israelis demonstrate against attacks by Jewish extremists on aid trucks carrying food and supplies to Gaza, in Jerusalem on May 17, 2024. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo » …
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