After years of preparation, months of threats, and two weeks of serious attacks on Hezbollah, which seemed to prepare for a significant military move, the moment came that many in Israel and around the world have awaited is here: The IDF has returned to a land maneuver in Lebanon, with the aim of forcibly removing Hezbollah from the border (implementing Resolution 1701, which was adopted at the end of the previous war), removing the threat to the northern communities, and bringing the residents of the evacuated north back to their homes.
The military move began last night in the area of the northern Galilee, where it currently seems that the main effort is directed west, toward Al-Hiam, a Lebanese village near the border, from which many launches were carried out toward Manara, which led to the destruction of the Israeli settlement. The move began after several hours of significant artillery bombardment, and includes forces from the 98th and 7th divisions, who left the Gaza Strip only recently. As of this time, there are no known encounters between IDF forces and terrorists.
The IDF does not reveal its full plans, with some politicians describing a maneuver aimed at conquering the entire area dramatically into the Litani River, and American sources claiming that they were promised that the maneuver would not be greater than that of 2006 (where the maximum progress was about 15 km to Lebanon in various directions). The question, of course, is what the IDF is trying to achieve in the maneuver, and whether this is a process that is primarily about destroying infrastructures, killing terrorists, or whether it is a conscious move that is intended to determine Israel’s winning image and break Hezbollah’s image as the “Lebanon Shield.”
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagri referred to the IDF’s actions: “If the state of Lebanon and the world cannot keep Hezbollah away from our border, we have no choice but to do it ourselves. Let me be clear: Our war is with Hezbollah, not with the Lebanese people. We do not want to harm Lebanese civilians, and we are taking steps to prevent this. We will not allow October 7 to happen again on any of our borders. We will continue to do everything necessary so that the citizens of Israel can return to their homes in security and peace.”
At these moments, when the IDF is operating on the ground simultaneously in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, and when its planes are bombing targets from Yemen to Syria, and when Hezbollah is beaten and bruised and barely manages to raise its head and respond to Israeli attacks, Israeli power is transmitted well to the entire world. Anyone who thought that October 7 proves that Israel is unable to defend itself or deal with a small terrorist organization is now being shown Israel’s capabilities – when it is clear that many more capabilities exist and have not yet been realized.
