The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have faced little resistance since announcing their “limited” offensive into southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning local time, a move aimed at Destroy Hezbollah’s construction On the common border.
Israel has been increasing its strikes for weeks against the terrorist organization in southern Lebanon as well as targeted attacks in Beirut.
On Tuesday, the IDF confirmed in a statement shared with Fox News Digital that since October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel – after which Hezbollah began attacking military posts on Israel’s northern border – The IDF has conducted dozens of “targeted operations”. “Destroying Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities” that pose a threat to civilians in the North.
Smoke rises after Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that IDF special forces have penetrated Hezbollah compounds at “dozens of locations” along the Israel-Lebanon border, collecting intelligence and destroying positional strongholds.
“Our troops penetrated Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure, exposed Hezbollah’s hidden weapons stockpiles, and seized and destroyed weapons, including advanced Iranian-made weapons,” Hagari said. “In total, IDF troops exposed and destroyed more than 700 Hezbollah terrorist assets during these operations. And there is still much work to do.”
Since the war began about a year ago, Israeli special forces have reportedly begun conducting small raids into southern Lebanon, in some cases Using the same tunnels that were seized by Israel from the terrorist group years ago, and has drawn renewed attention to how the Hezbollah network operates.
The terrorist group has for years relied on its heavy involvement in civilian life, particularly in southern Lebanon, where it has rented out civilian infrastructure to serve as weapons depots and even missile launcher sites. . Civilian buildings have also been used to cover the entrances to the group’s sophisticated tunnel network, the length of which is estimated to exceed 100 miles cumulatively across the region.
The Israeli military shows the interior of a tunnel on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon in northern Israel on June 3, 2019. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
but despite this fear of all-out war While Israel had the potential to provoke an attack on its northern neighbor, Hezbollah’s resistance has been minimal.
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Security experts feared that Hezbollah would be able to collect taxes because of its long-term support from Iran. about 8,000 rockets per day In an even worse situation, and involving more than 50,000 of its workers elite radwan forcesCould pose a significant threat against Israeli ground operations.
Hagari confirmed to journalists on Tuesday that IDF forces were actively working to destroy Radwan infrastructure near the border in southern Lebanon.
“We need to take care of this because we will not let the incident of October 7 happen again on our borders,” he said.
Following the 7 October attacks, the IDF assessed that approximately 2,400 Radwan militants, along with another 500 Palestinian jihadists trained by the elite force, were deployed in villages across southern Lebanon ready to attack.
But the IDF also highlighted Tuesday that Hezbollah had failed to mobilize counter-forces in response to the Israeli incursion.
Israeli artillery soldiers are surrounded by smoke and dust while firing into southern Lebanon from a position on the border in Zoura, northern Israel, on July 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Oded Balilti, File)
Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman and current senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital that Hezbollah’s almost complete lack of counter-power can be explained by several reasons.
“The IDF conducted hundreds of special operations during the past months to map and analyze Hezbollah’s hostile infrastructure in civilian homes in southern Lebanon, as well as air operations against Hezbollah personnel,” he said. “Hezbollah terrorists suffered serious losses and began fleeing southern Lebanon.
“It is unclear how many Hezbollah militants remain in the south,” he said.
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An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile toward southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Given the unknown number of militants who fled to the south are likely headed towards Beirut and other strongholds in central Lebanon, journalists questioned the current IDF spokesperson whether this could mean Israel would have to expand its operations in the north. Campaigns will need to be expanded.
“We are not going to Beirut,” Hagari told reporters, emphasizing Israel’s stated goal of returning its citizens to their northern homes. “We are focusing on the area of those villages, the area next to the border. And we will do what is necessary in this area to eliminate and dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure.”
Hagari did not provide specific details about the operational timeline, but said Israel’s campaign in Lebanon would be conducted over “days (to) weeks.”
