An Israeli land invasion of southern Lebanon is inevitable, former Israeli officer Amir Aviv told the American Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, Israeli special forces have recently conducted limited reconnaissance missions in southern Lebanon in preparation for an invasion that could begin as early as this week.
The raids, which included examining Hezbollah tunnels near the border, were carried out over the past few months as part of a broader effort to weaken the Lebanese group's capabilities, the Wall Street Journal wrote.
– Land invasion Israel to the south of Lebanon is inevitable, and the actions of special forces are always part of the preparations for such operations, former Israeli officer Amir Aviv told the American daily. “Hezbollah now appears so weakened that it is unclear how far into Lebanese territory Israeli forces will advance and when and under what conditions they will withdraw,” he added.
Israeli soldiers near the border with Lebanon PAP/EPA
US pressure on Israel
Israel is under intense pressure USAto refrain from a “wider invasion”. However, it is not known whether the land operation will mean occupying the territory of southern Lebanon or whether there will be a series of larger raids on this country, the newspaper emphasized.
The Wall Street Journal noted that a larger ground operation against Lebanon would be perceived in the region as a significant provocation and would contribute to the further weakening of that country.
On the other hand, the Israeli authorities are under pressure from within the country to create a buffer zone on the border with Lebanon, which would allow approximately 60,000 internal refugees evacuated due to the threat from Hezbollah to safely return to the north of the country. This one supported by Iran the organization previously threatened to invade Israel, and since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, it has been shelling the north of Israel, which is met with strong counterattacks – said the American daily.
Air raids on Lebanon
Israel has been leading for a week intensive air raids on Lebanondeclaring that the operation was aimed at Hezbollah targets. On Friday in an air raid on Beirut the leader of this group, Hasan Nasrallah, was killed. Israel announced that it had killed almost all of Hezbollah's senior commanders and eliminated much of its combat potential.
– Killing Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not everything. We will use all the capabilities at our disposal, said Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant on Monday, visiting armored units in the north of the country. Israel has recently increased its forces on the northern border and now has more troops there than in the Gaza Strip.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA