Israel said it will “accelerate” its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanonwhich in two days have killed more than 500 people, before the Army launched a new bombardment against Beirutin which at least six people were killed, including a commander of the Lebanese group.
Ibrahim Muhammad Kabisiwhom Israel identified as responsible for the Shiite missile and rocket unit, was killed in the bombing while surrounded by other “key” commanders of the group, according to the Israeli Army.
«We cannot give Hezbollah a break (…). We will accelerate offensive operations and reinforce arsenals. “The situation requires intensive actions on all fronts.”The Israeli Chief of Staff said today, Herzi Haleviduring an assessment of the situation at the Israeli Army headquarters in Tel Aviv.
A military spokesman explained to EFE that, after eleven months of exchange of fire across the border with Lebanon, Israel “seems to have crossed the threshold of war,” although he said that the country still prefers a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah.
“We want there to be a diplomatic solution, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon. So I imagine the government has come to the conclusion that only a military solution will achieve the goal of returning the 60,000 evacuated northern Israelis to their homes, the spokesman said.
Continuous bombings
Yesterday Israel began an intense bombing campaign against the south and east of Lebanon which, according to the Lebanese authorities, has already left more than 500 dead and 1,800 injured.
Hezbollah has been storing ammunition and weapons in civilian homes in southern Lebanon for years, and its attacks over the past two days are aimed at “degrading” those capabilities before they are used against northern Israel, according to Israeli forces.
A military source explained to EFE that the Lebanese group uses southern Lebanon to store short-range missiles, and that the strategic ballistic missiles are located in the center and north of the country, in places that have not yet been attacked by the Army. Israeli.
The source ventured that Hezbollah is not yet using its entire arsenal since, on the one hand, it has suffered heavy losses in recent days and needs time to evaluate the situation and make decisions; and, on the other hand, Iran, the group’s main ally, does not want to lose another of its satellites (since Hamas has lost almost all of its military capabilities in Gaza), so it is reluctant to escalate the situation.
Furthermore, said the same source, who requested anonymity, Hezbollah planned to fight a long war of attrition, and did not expect Israel to go on the offensive so quickly, so it is still unclear how to respond.
Thousands of projectiles
The Israeli Army highlighted this Tuesday that, in the last day, it has hit 1,500 targets of what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in southern Lebanon and in the interior of the country, using some 2,000 projectiles.
“Air force fighter jets continue their activities, carrying out attacks at this very moment,” the Israeli forces detailed in a statement.
The authorities have named the operation against Hezbollah the “Northern Arrows.”
On the Israeli side of the border, Hezbollah attacks continued to be concentrated in the north, although they are increasingly directed towards more populated areas further away from the divide, around the coastal city of Haifa.
Many of the projectiles were intercepted, and an Israeli reservist soldier was slightly wounded.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in an intense exchange of fire since October 8 of last year, when the Shiite group began launching attacks against northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, more than 700 people have died, most on the Lebanese side and in the ranks of Hezbollah, which has confirmed some 455 casualties, some in Syria.
In Israel, 52 people were killed, 26 of them soldiers and 26 civilians, including 12 minors and adolescents in an attack in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. EFE (I)
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