Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commandos have begun carrying out small incursions into southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah positions, ahead of a possible ground invasion, taking advantage of disarray in the terrorist organization.
ABC News reported Saturday night:
Small-scale operations or “border movements” into Lebanon to take out Hezbollah positions right on the border have begun or are about to, according to two U.S. officials.
Israel does not yet appear to have fully decided whether to launch a ground operation but is prepared for one, the officials said. If a ground operation happens, its scope will likely be limited, sources said. The key is fulfilling the promise to Israelis that the tens of thousands displaced from northern Israel will be able to go home. To do that, decapitating Hezbollah is not enough, the officials said.
The New York Times reported that Israel has been infiltrating Lebanon for a long time for intelligence operations:
Israel has used Lebanon’s proximity to its advantage — Jerusalem is less than 150 miles from the Lebanese border — to insert undercover commandos deep into the country to conduct sensitive intelligence missions.
Most important, former U.S. and Israeli officials say that Israel’s audacity to carry out such operations set it apart from traditional intelligence agencies with less of an appetite for risk and legal hurdles.
Hezbollah and other Iranian terrorist proxies have struggled to respond to Israel’s attacks over the last two weeks, beginning with the pager attacks widely attributed to Israel, and culminating in the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday night.
Houthi rebels fired a third ballistic missile at Israel on Saturday, which was downed. Other rockets and missiles were fired from Lebanon, and were either intercepted or landed without causing damage.
Shiite militias in Iraq, which are also controlled by Iran, fired a drone toward the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.
Israel’s objective in a ground mission would be to push Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006. U.S.
President Joe Biden does not back such a mission, reiterating his call for a ceasefire on Saturday evening, in the face of Israel’s ongoing military success.
