The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday evening, as uncertainty grows in the country over whether this will be the prelude to open war.
In a statement, the FDI They said they were "currently attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to damage and destroy" the pro-Iranian terrorist militia's capabilities and infrastructure, and described these activities as a requirement to meet the four objectives of the war in Gaza.
The aim is to "bring security to northern Israel in order to allow residents to return to their homes," the text concludes, referring to the nearly 60.000 Israelis who remain evacuated from border communities since the crossfire with Hezbollah began, parallel to the war in Gaza.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant repeated the same message about the evacuees hours later in a meeting with other Israeli security and intelligence officials, to whom he He reiterated that Israel is facing a “new phase” in the war and that military operations against Hezbollah will continue.
"In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities, but also considerable risks. Hezbollah feels persecuted. The sequence of our military actions will continue," the minister said.
Yesterday, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, said he had approved the "attack and defense plans" on the northern front, as the IDF moves forces from the south (where the war in the Gaza Strip continues) to the northern divide with Lebanon.
According to Israeli media, this means that Israeli troops are now ready and waiting for government guidelines on how to act in Lebanon without harming the other objectives of the war, including the return of the 97 hostages from Gaza.
Sound bombs in Lebanon
The Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon coincided with a televised address by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on the wave of electronic device explosions that this week killed 37 people and injured nearly 3.000 in Lebanon.
In his speech, Nasrallah said Israel had crossed all "limits" and "red lines" with the massive remote attack that hit streets, hospitals and supermarkets. But he acknowledged that it had caused "an unprecedented shock" in the history of the organization.
"Israel has a clear technological advantage because it is not just Israel, but it also has the support of the United States," said the leader, who warned that what happened could be described as "a declaration of war."
In addition, during the speech, Israeli fighter planes broke the sound barrier over the Lebanese capital, causing intense rumblings that shook doors, windows and glass, and even set off car alarms in the streets.
From opportunity to endless war
Meanwhile, in Israel, the local press is debating whether the unprecedented events of the last two days constitute a "rare opportunity" to weaken Hezbollah or whether, on the contrary, Attacking now will only be the start of another stalemated war like the one in the Gaza Strip.
"Simply put, Hezbollah is currently in the worst state it has been in since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. It was completely surprised by an attack it does not know how to counter," says an editorial in the Hebrew digital newspaper today. N12.co.il, which advocates attacking the militia's missile arsenal.
Less positively, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the second most read in the country, warned on Thursday of the risk of "getting into a loop" with "a large-scale war" that could weaken Hezbollah, but not destroy it as an organization.
"Once that war is over, a new set of agreements will be reached with the Lebanese organization. If Israel's success is huge, Hezbollah will retreat north of the Litani River. If the success is more modest and limited, it will retreat ten to fifteen kilometers from the border," the editorial predicts, asking: "Why not reach these agreements now, before so many people die and before thousands of missiles are fired?"
Patricia Martínez Sastre from Efe contributed to this Aurora article.
This lackey of the Iranian Ayatollahs talks about red lines as if their attacks on civilians were not the many red lines that Israel has endured.