ISRAEL dramatically expanded its war plan yesterday, bringing its forces to the brink of a bloody all-out clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Northern Israel has been evacuated for months after Hezbollah launched daily rocket barrages to support its Hamas terror comrades.
6
6
6
6
But Israeli leaders yesterday added a new goal to its list of three primary post-October 7 war aims: “The safe return of the residents of the north to their homes”.
And Defence chief Yoav Gallant warned the new objective could only be achieved by “military” action yesterday.
The announcement paves the way for the first full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon since 2006 in a drive to push back the terror group and allow Israelis to return home.
But the risky move raises the spectre of Hezbollah backers, Iran being drawn into a devastating regional conflict.
more on Israel vs Hezbollah
Gallant has already revealed Israel Defence Forces’ plans to switch their focus from Hamas in Gaza to the northern front.
Prime Minister Netanyahu added “it will not be possible to return our residents without a fundamental change in the security situation in the north”.
Since the day after last year’s October 7 attacks in which Hamas claimed 1,200 lives, Hezbollah has supported its Islamist ally with drone, rocket and guided missile attacks.
They have killed 26 civilians and 20 soldiers and forced 80,000 Israelis to flee south to escape the blitz, which has damaged nearly 1,000 homes within six miles of the border.
IDF air power alone has been unable to stop the life-threatening barrages and analysts now believe a ground invasion of southern Lebanon could be imminent.
One plan being considered by Israeli war chiefs is a move to occupy a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu was last night said to be holding top-level talks with military planners to draw up a blueprint for a northern offensive.
But Iran – which has funded and stocked Hezbollah’s military machine for years – looks certain to respond with its own strike back if a ground assault is launched.
It comes as hundreds of Hezbollah fighters today have been injured after their pagers exploded in Lebanon.
The devices have blown up across the country in what Lebanese media is claiming is a massive “hacking attack” by Israel.
A Hezbollah source told AFP: “Dozens of Hezbollah members have been wounded in the south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs after their pagers exploded.”
Hezbollah officials have pinned the attack on an “Israeli breach” of its communications.
At least 150 people are reported to have so far been injured and there are no reports of death.
Videos circulating on social media reportedly show the explosions happening, with one showing a man’s bag exploding in a grocer.
Mojtaba Amani, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Beirut, was also reportedly injured in the blast that took place in Beirut.
Hezbollah has been ‘readying to invade Israel for YEARS
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
HEZBOLLAH fighters are readying to storm Israel from southern Lebanon and spark a “catastrophic” war, a Middle East expert has warned.
Professor Asher Kaufman told The Sun that Israeli forces are now more focused on tackling the Iran-backed threat in Lebanon than defeating Gaza-based terror group Hamas.
Speaking to The Sun from Jerusalem, Professor Kaufman said: “We may be facing a situation where Hezbollah units could try and cross the border in order to take some territory from Israel, just as Israeli forces might do in Lebanon.
He told us “their elite force has been training for that possible scenario” for years.
Now it is looking increasingly likely that the risky tit-for-tat skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israel could escalate into a full blown armed conflict.
Kaufman, from the KROC Institute for International Peace Studies, investigates the border dynamics between Israel and Lebanon – where the Hezbollah militant group is based.
Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) have been gearing up for a possible invasion by Hezbollah – and preparing to defend against one – for some time.
Kaufman explained: “The IDF in the north has been training for that possibility for years now with the knowledge that one unit of Hezbollah might cross the border and take over Israeli community settlements.
He said “the paradox is that eventually it happened in the south”, when Hamas stormed the border from Gaza on October 7 last year.
Israel is almost 12 months into its bloody war with Hamas in the south – and it is feared the war could now escalate into a direct confrontation in the north with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The militant group is thought to have 30,000 to 50,000 fighters and between 120,000 and 200,000 missiles, rockets, attack and reconnaissance drones.
Israeli officials say they are prepared to go to war with Hezbollah – but the country is already embroiled in a conflict where tens of thousands of people have died.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, has promised that a decision on “all-out war” with the group is coming soon.
And in December last year, Netanyahu himself warned Beirut would be turned “into Gaza” if Hezbollah started an all-out war.
6
6