JERUSALEM – Signs of a third comprehensive war between Israel and the Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a terrorist group and operates a state within a state in Lebanon, is rapidly consolidating its position. Israel has already fought two wars against terrorists based in Lebanon, in 1982 and 2006, and now a third war is looming.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have moved their elite and battle-hardened 98th Division from the southern Gaza war zone against Hamas to the north, a possible prelude to what some are calling a ground invasion to eradicate Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
Brigadier General Amir Avivi, Israel Defense Forces Reserve Brigade, told Fox News Digital that a war against Hezbollah was imminent in the north. “A few weeks ago, it was clear that Hamas was no longer a serious threat to Israel, as Israel had wiped out most of Hamas’ forces. This was the moment to decide to change the strategy and shift the focus from the south to the north.”
Israeli Defense Forces confirm “targeted attack” on Beirut
Rescue workers carry a body to the scene of a rocket attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, September 20, 2024. ((AP Photo/Bilal Hussein))
The rapid movements in Israel – a country the size of New Jersey – come as the Jewish state’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad, is reportedly detonating electronic devices belonging to Hezbollah members, like something out of a John le Carré spy novel. Hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and injuring about 2,800 others.
Another wave of electronic explosive devices detonated on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 450. Hezbollah officials said the devices included walkie-talkies and solar panels.
Hezbollah is a bigger challenge for Israel than Hamas: “Crown jewel in the Iranian terror empire”
The Israel Defense Forces said they attacked Hezbollah infrastructure facilities in Lebanon on Thursday. (Israel Defense Forces)
“This was the moment to decide to change the strategy and shift the focus from the south to the north.”
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a heavy air war for 48 hours. The Israeli War Cabinet declared the return of up to 100,000 Israelis who had to flee the north due to Hezbollah attacks to be the main war aim.
Avivi, head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, He pointed out that there was no way to safely return the displaced Israelis to their homes in the north “without driving Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and dealing it a hard blow with all its capabilities throughout Lebanon.”
Israel Defense Forces troops operate near the Lebanese border.
He said the chances of a diplomatic solution were “extremely slim given the lack of international pressure and the US’s unwillingness to issue a credible military threat against Iran and Hezbollah.”
The United Nations has failed to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah after its war against the Jewish state in 2006.
ISRAEL DEGRADES IRAN-BACKED HIZBOLLAH TERRORISTS IN SPECTACULAR PAGER EXPLOSION OPERATION, EXPERTS SAY
Another devastating setback for Hezbollah was the killing of members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit in Beirut in an Israeli attack on Friday.
IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani announced on X on Friday: “We eliminated Ibrahim Aqil in a targeted strike in Beirut, Lebanon, early this morning. At the time of the strike, Ibrahim Aqil and the approximately 10 Radwan commanders who were eliminated with him were gathering underground – under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiyah neighborhood, hiding among Lebanese civilians and using them as human shields.” The number of high-ranking Radwan members killed has now been raised to 15.
Aqil was a wanted global Islamist terrorist with the blood of US military personnel on his hands. The US wanted him for his alleged role in the bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. He is also linked to the taking of American soldiers hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s.
Israeli forces said they killed senior Hezbollah terrorist Ibrahim Aqil in an attack in Beirut on Friday. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
Shoshani added: “They were in the process of planning more terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Terrorist attacks like the 200 rockets fired at Israeli civilians today, and many more. These commanders also planned Hezbollah’s ‘Conquest of Galilee’ attack plan, in which Hezbollah intended to invade Israeli communities and murder innocent civilians.”
Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8, a day after its ally Hamas invaded Israel and slaughtered nearly 1,200 people. Hezbollah attacks have killed more than 40 people in Israel, including 12 Israeli Druze children at a packed soccer field in July.
“If Hezbollah cares about Lebanon’s future, it would do well to withdraw from the Israeli border.”
Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, told Fox News Digital: “If Israel wanted to launch a large-scale offensive against Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, it would not have waited more than 11 months. The Israel Defense Forces are attacking launch sites and military infrastructure in Lebanon after already delivering a stunning and demoralizing blow by blowing up communications equipment. This may be Israel’s last attempt to pressure Hezbollah into agreeing to a diplomatic deal that can prevent war.”
The aftermath of a Hezbollah rocket attack in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on May 10, 2024. (Photo: Erez Bar Simon/TPS-IL.) (Erez Bar Simon/TPS-IL)
Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added: “If Hezbollah cares about Lebanon’s future, the right thing to do would be to withdraw from the Israeli border and cease its aggression against Israel. It would also sever its artificial connection to Hamas’ war against Israel. Ultimately, the Israeli authorities have an obligation to facilitate the safe return of the evacuated Israelis to their homeland, either through a diplomatic agreement or through military action.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Hezbollah fighters form a human barrier during the funeral procession for slain Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut on August 1, 2024. Hezbollah mourned on August 1 for Shukr, whose body was recovered from the rubble of a July 30 Israeli attack in southern Beirut that also killed five civilians, three women and two children, and wounded dozens, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, amid growing fears of a wider conflict in the region. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)
Rami Mortada, Lebanon’s ambassador to Britain, told the Times of London that an Israeli invasion would be “a doomsday scenario for everyone. For Lebanon, it is definitely a doomsday scenario.” He warned that Lebanon would not suffer alone in a new war.
Israeli war planners have spent 17 years, since the last war against Hezbollah in 2006, preparing for the doomsday conflict in the north.
Fox News’ Timothy HJ Nerozzi contributed to this report.
