The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that soldiers were preparing for a ground battle in southern Lebanon as Israel continues to strike Hezbollah weapons facilities from the air.
The aim of the ground operation is to remove Hezbollah from its bases near the Israeli border, where it has been operating in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, an agreement adopted in 2006 to end the Second Lebanon War.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement:
Yesterday (Tuesday), Northern Command Commander, Maj. Gen. Oli Gordin, visited commanders and soldiers of the 7th Brigade during a brigade exercise on the northern border to assess their readiness and provide an operational situation assessment.
During the visit, Maj. Gen. Goldin stressed the importance of the soldiers' readiness and readiness to improve the security situation and allow northerners to return to their homes.
From Major General Goldin's statement: “We have entered a new phase of the operation, now in Operation Northern Arrows. The operation began with a major blow to Hezbollah's capabilities, especially its firepower capabilities, and a very heavy blow to the organization's commanders and operatives. In the face of this, we need to change the security situation and be well prepared to maneuver and act.”
A ground war in Lebanon will be extremely difficult, as Hezbollah has spent 15 years preparing its defenses with weapons from Iran and a network of tunnels reportedly built with help from North Korea.
But Israel may feel it has no choice but to wage a ground war to protect northern communities from Hezbollah attacks, and has already told civilians to evacuate areas where Hezbollah has stored weapons in homes.
Israel has been preparing for a ground war since Hezbollah began shelling in October in response to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, but Israel's bigger concern was a Hezbollah invasion of Israel, and only recently has the IDF gone on the offensive.
Israeli government spokesman David Mensah said Israel wanted a diplomatic solution but that was not possible, despite repeated back-and-forth efforts by the Biden administration's “capable” special envoy, Amos Hochstein.
update: The IDF said Wednesday it was calling up two reserve brigades for duty on the northern border.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also The Trump Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump's Presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
