An explosion takes place as Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Zibqin, Lebanon, Aug. 25, 2024, in this still image obtained from a video. Photo: Reuters TV via REUTERS
Israel is “very focused” on waging combat with Hezbollah and preparing for offensive actions against the powerful Iran-backed terrorist group in neighboring Lebanon, the Israeli military chief said on Friday.
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is very focused on combat with Hezbollah. I think that the number of strikes in the past month, operatives eliminated, rockets, and infrastructure destroyed is very high,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the IDF, announced during a situational assessment and tour at the 210th Division on the border of the Golan Heights.
“The Northern Command, with all of the IDF’s capabilities, is striking a lot of Hezbollah’s capabilities in Lebanon before they can attack us, and at the same time, we are preparing for offensive moves within the arena,” Halevi added. “I think that this combination of very significant strikes on Hezbollah to reduce the threats to the residents in the north, including in the Golan Heights, is very, very significant together with readiness for an offensive going forward that we are very engaged in.”
Hezbollah has pummeled northern Israeli communities almost daily with barrages of drones, rockets, and missiles from southern Lebanon, where it wields significant political and military influence, since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas in October.
About 80,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate Israel’s north during that time due to the unrelenting attacks. Most of them have spent the past 11 months living displaced in hotels in other areas of he country.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said on Thursday that August was the most intense month in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah so far, with more than 1,300 attacks on the Jewish state recorded.
One of the biggest clashes occurred nearly two weeks ago, when Israeli fighter jets destroyed thousands of drones and rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, after detecting an imminent attack on the Jewish state.
Hezbollah, which is Iran’s chief proxy force in the Middle East, subsequently fired some 300 projectiles into Israel.
Several reports have confirmed Israeli claims that Hezbollah was preparing to target Israel with a major barrage. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated that the terrorist group carried out its strikes in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon late last month. Israel claimed responsibility for Shukr’s death.
Israel has been increasingly directing its military focus northward to Hezbollah in Lebanon as it has decimated the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s operational capabilities from Gaza to the south. Like Hezbollah, Hamas also receives significant military and financial support from Iran.
Israeli leaders have said they seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon but are prepared to use large-scale military force if needed to ensure all displaced citizens can safely return to their homes.
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