Jerusalem – Signs of a Third All-Out War Between Israel and Israel Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist organization that operates a state within a state in Lebanon, is rapidly gaining power. Israel has fought two wars with the terrorist organization in Lebanon, in 1982 and 2006, and a third war appears imminent.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have redeployed their elite, battle-hardened 98th Division from the southern Gaza theater to fight Hamas in the north, in what some say may be a precursor to a ground invasion to root out Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
IDF Reserve Brigadier General Amir Avibi told Fox News Digital that a northern war with Hezbollah was imminent: “After Israel destroyed most of the Hamas forces a few weeks ago, it was clear that Hamas is no longer a serious threat to Israel. Now is the time to change strategy and make a decision to shift forces from the south to the north.”
Israel Defense Forces confirm 'targeted attack' on Beirut
Rescuers carry a body at the site of a missile attack in the southern outskirts of Beirut, Friday, September 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The wave of attacks in Israel, a country the size of New Jersey, comes as the Jewish state's foreign intelligence service, Mossad, allegedly blew up Hezbollah operatives' electronic devices in a scene straight out of a John le Carré spy novel. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding about 2,800.
A new wave of electronic equipment exploded on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 450. Hezbollah officials said the devices included walkie-talkies and solar-powered equipment.
Hezbollah is a bigger challenge to Israel than Hamas: “The jewel in Iran's empire of terror”
The Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday they had targeted Hezbollah infrastructure facilities in Lebanon. (Israel Defense Forces)
“This was the moment to decide to change strategy and shift our centre of gravity from the south to the north.”
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a fierce aerial battle over the past 48 hours, and Israel's war cabinet has declared its main war objective to be the return of as many as 100,000 Israelis forced to flee the north by Hezbollah attacks.
Avivi, head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, He noted that there was no way to allow displaced Israelis to safely return to their homes in the north “without driving Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and thoroughly attacking its capabilities across Lebanon.”
Israel Defense Forces units operating near the Lebanese border.
“The lack of international pressure and the US unwillingness to pose a credible military threat to Iran and Hezbollah make a diplomatic solution highly unlikely,” he said.
The UN has not implemented UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for Hezbollah to disarm after the 2006 war against the Jewish state.
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In another devastating blow to Hezbollah, an IDF strike on Friday eliminated members of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit in Beirut.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Nadav Shoshani Announced on Friday at X “We carried out a precision strike early today in Beirut, Lebanon, eliminating Ibrahim Akil. At the time of the strike, Ibrahim Akil and approximately 10 other Radwan commanders who were eliminated with him were gathered under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiya district, hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields.”
Akil was an internationally wanted Islamic extremist terrorist with a history of US military blood on his hands. He was wanted by the US for the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut and is also believed to be involved in the taking of American hostages in Lebanon in the 1980s.
The Israel Defense Forces said they killed a senior Hezbollah terrorist, Ibrahim Akil, in an attack in Beirut on Friday. (Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Unit)
Shoshani added, “They were planning further terror attacks against Israeli civilians, like the 200 rockets fired at Israeli civilians today and many more. These commanders were also planning the 'Conquest of Galilee' attack plan, which intended for Hezbollah to infiltrate Israeli communities and kill innocent civilians.”
Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8, the day after its ally Hamas invaded Israel and massacred about 1,200 people. Hezbollah attacks have killed more than 40 people inside Israel, including 12 Israeli Druze children who were killed in a packed soccer stadium in July.
“If Hezbollah cares about Lebanon's future, the right thing to do is withdraw from Israel's borders.”
“If Israel was planning to launch a full-scale attack against Iranian proxies in Lebanon, it would not have waited more than 11 months,” former IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus told Fox News Digital. “After dealing a stunning and demoralizing blow by detonating communications equipment, the IDF is now attacking Lebanese launchers and military infrastructure. This is perhaps Israel's final attempt to pressure Hezbollah into agreeing to a diplomatic deal that could avert war.”
The aftermath of a Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on May 10, 2024. (Photo: Erez Bar-Simon/TPS-IL) (Erez Bar Shimon/TPS-IL)
Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added: “If Hezbollah cares about Lebanon's future, the right thing to do is to withdraw from Israel's borders, stop aggression into Israel, and sever its artificial link to Hamas' war against Israel. Ultimately, Israeli authorities have an obligation to facilitate the safe return of displaced Israelis, either through diplomatic agreements or military action.”
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Hezbollah fighters form a human barrier during the funeral procession for slain Hezbollah top commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut's southern suburbs on August 1, 2024. Hezbollah expressed condolences on August 1 after recovering Shukr's body from the rubble of a July 30 Israeli attack in south Beirut that killed five civilians, three women and two children and wounded dozens, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, amid growing fears of an escalating conflict in the region. (Photo: Khaled Desouki/AFP) (Photo: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Lebanon's ambassador to Britain, Rami Mortada, told The Times of London that an Israeli invasion “would be a catastrophe scenario for everyone, certainly for Lebanon.” He warned that Lebanon would not suffer alone in a new war.
Israeli war planners have been preparing for a doomsday war in the north for 17 years, since the last war with Hezbollah in 2006.
Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
