The Israeli Army: Our Forces Are Preparing for Offensive Action Inside Lebanon
Chief of Staff Halevi: We aim to reduce the threats facing the residents of the northern region and the Golan Heights, while preparing for a later offensive.
In the latest developments of the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced that his forces are preparing to take offensive measures inside Lebanon.
During an inspection tour in the Golan Heights, Halevi stated that the Israeli army is focused on confronting Hezbollah and that the attacks over the past month have resulted in a significant number of Hezbollah fighters being killed.
Halevi added that the Israeli army aims to mitigate the threats facing the residents of the northern region and the Golan Heights while simultaneously preparing for an offensive at a later stage, without providing further details.
Earlier, intense Israeli air raids were renewed on southern Lebanon. Israeli media reported that the air force launched a series of strikes targeting rocket launchers in several southern Lebanese towns, including Beit Leif, Aitroun, Al-Dhahira, and Kafr Kila. The Israeli artillery also carried out simultaneous attacks in conjunction with the air raids.
Since the beginning of the escalation, Hezbollah has primarily targeted Israeli military positions in attacks launched from southern Lebanon, claiming they are in “support” of Gaza and its resistance. Israel, in turn, has been targeting what it describes as Hezbollah’s “military infrastructure” and its fighters’ movements.
On the morning of August 25, a large-scale confrontation erupted between the two sides. Hezbollah announced that it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to bomb Israeli positions, including a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv, in response to the assassination of its senior military commander, Fouad Shukr, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on July 30.
For its part, Israel claimed to have prevented “a large portion of the attack” launched by Hezbollah through preemptive strikes on southern Lebanon.
Since the escalation began, at least 610 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 394 Hezbollah members and 135 civilians, according to a tally based on official data, Hezbollah obituaries, and other groups.
In Israel, authorities reported the death of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians, including 12 killed in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
By/radwa sherif ✏️✏️📚