Israel Defense Forces (IDF) special forces have launched a small incursion into southern Lebanon to take advantage of the terrorist group's confusion and destroy Hezbollah positions ahead of a possible ground invasion.
ABC News reported Saturday night:
A small operation or “border move” into Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah positions in the immediate vicinity of the border has begun or is about to begin, according to two U.S. officials.
Israel appears to have not yet fully decided whether to launch a ground operation, but officials said it is ready. Officials said that even if ground operations were to be carried out, their scope would likely be limited. The key is to fulfill promises made to Israelis that tens of thousands of people who fled northern Israel would be able to return home. To do so, officials said, decapitating Hezbollah is not enough.
of new york times reported Israel reportedly has been infiltrating Lebanon for a long time for intelligence purposes.
Israel takes advantage of Lebanon's proximity (Jerusalem is less than 150 miles from the Lebanese border) to send undercover special forces deep into Lebanon to carry out classified intelligence missions.
Most importantly, former U.S. and Israeli officials say Israel's boldness in carrying out such operations sets it apart from traditional intelligence agencies, which are less amenable to risk and legal hurdles. That's what I'm doing.
Hezbollah and other Iranian terror proxies have struggled to respond to attacks by Israel over the past two weeks, starting with a pager attack widely attributed to Israel and ending with the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday night. It reached its climax.
Houthi rebels fired a third ballistic missile toward Israel on Saturday, but it was shot down. Other rockets and missiles fired from Lebanon were intercepted or landed without causing any damage.
Iraqi Shiite militias, also under Iranian control, launched a drone toward the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.
Israel's objective in the ground mission would be to drive Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River, in accordance with 2006 UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
President Joe Biden on Saturday night did not support such a mission and reiterated his call for a ceasefire, given Israel's continued military successes.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
