Israel ‘very serious about going into Lebanon’
Israel ‘very serious about going into Lebanon’
During Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent trip to the Middle East, he told an Arab counterpart that it appears Israel is intent on launching an incursion into Lebanon, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
“It seems that they [Israel] are very serious about going into Lebanon,” the person said. The Arab official’s response to Blinken, the source added, was that Hezbollah has communicated that they will not stop their strikes on Israel until Israel stops its operations in Gaza.
Israeli officials have told the US that one of its main goals in an offensive would be to push Hezbollah back, creating a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon and allowing the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced out of their homes in the north because of the cross-border attacks to return.
If war is averted and Hochstein’s plan goes into effect, it would similarly see Hezbollah pull back around six miles, or ten kilometers, away from the border. But in order to prevent a return by the group in the future, Israel may want to further destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the area.
The US has worried for months that Israel could launch an incursion, with intelligence assessments earlier this year indicating that it could come by early summer. US officials have also rebuked Israel for its strikes that have hit the US-backed Lebanese army, rather than Hezbollah targets.
US officials assess the Israeli government is under growing domestic political pressure to address the situation in the north because of how many Israelis have been forced to flee their homes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held an operational assessment at the IDF’s Northern Command on Wednesday, where he said, “We are achieving readiness on land and in the air.”
“We have an obligation to change things in the North, and to ensure the safe return of our citizens to their homes, and we will find a way to achieve this,” he said, according to his spokesperson.
Allies are also deeply concerned about the potential that a full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could draw in other proxy groups, multiple sources familiar told CNN. US officials are particularly worried about the thousands of US troops in the Middle East who could once again be targeted by Iran-backed proxy groups if Hezbollah, Iran’s most formidable proxy group, and Israel go to war.
There are additional concerns about how willing other regional players would be to come to Israel’s support and defense if Israel initiates a greater conflict, explained one of the officials.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that if war is “imposed” on Lebanon then Hezbollah will fight with “no rules and no ceilings.” He also said nowhere would be safe from Hezbollah attacks in the event of a war, including targets in the eastern Mediterranean. Over 1,000 US troops are stationed in the eastern Mediterranean now in support of the US military’s humanitarian pier operation.
Nasrallah also warned on Wednesday that Hezbollah could target Cyprus if the country allowed Israel to use its airports and bases to strike Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s ground force is also larger than Hamas’, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 fighters, according to the Congressional Research Service. Nasrallah on Wednesday said the number of fighters Hezbollah has actually “far exceeded” 100,000. Many, including their elite Radwan Force, have years of experience fighting in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime.
Despite a state of conflict existing between the two neighboring states, the Israel-Lebanon border has been the quietest for years since the end of the 2006 war, with only occasional cross-border fighting that ended relatively quickly. But Hamas’ October 7 attack radically changed the status quo between Israel and Hezbollah.
Rocket launches and drone attacks from Hezbollah have become a new reality in northern Israel, and the IDF carries out numerous strikes in southern Lebanon on a daily basis. The current hostilities, which could have started a war before October 7, have become all too routine, even as the US continues to say that neither side wants a wider conflict.
During Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent trip to the Middle East, he told an Arab counterpart that it appears Israel is intent on launching an incursion into Lebanon, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
“It seems that they [Israel] are very serious about going into Lebanon,” the person said. The Arab official’s response to Blinken, the source added, was that Hezbollah has communicated that they will not stop their strikes on Israel until Israel stops its operations in Gaza.
Israeli officials have told the US that one of its main goals in an offensive would be to push Hezbollah back, creating a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon and allowing the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced out of their homes in the north because of the cross-border attacks to return.
If war is averted and Hochstein’s plan goes into effect, it would similarly see Hezbollah pull back around six miles, or ten kilometers, away from the border. But in order to prevent a return by the group in the future, Israel may want to further destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the area.
The US has worried for months that Israel could launch an incursion, with intelligence assessments earlier this year indicating that it could come by early summer. US officials have also rebuked Israel for its strikes that have hit the US-backed Lebanese army, rather than Hezbollah targets.
US officials assess the Israeli government is under growing domestic political pressure to address the situation in the north because of how many Israelis have been forced to flee their homes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held an operational assessment at the IDF’s Northern Command on Wednesday, where he said, “We are achieving readiness on land and in the air.”
“We have an obligation to change things in the North, and to ensure the safe return of our citizens to their homes, and we will find a way to achieve this,” he said, according to his spokesperson.
Allies are also deeply concerned about the potential that a full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could draw in other proxy groups, multiple sources familiar told CNN. US officials are particularly worried about the thousands of US troops in the Middle East who could once again be targeted by Iran-backed proxy groups if Hezbollah, Iran’s most formidable proxy group, and Israel go to war.
There are additional concerns about how willing other regional players would be to come to Israel’s support and defense if Israel initiates a greater conflict, explained one of the officials.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that if war is “imposed” on Lebanon then Hezbollah will fight with “no rules and no ceilings.” He also said nowhere would be safe from Hezbollah attacks in the event of a war, including targets in the eastern Mediterranean. Over 1,000 US troops are stationed in the eastern Mediterranean now in support of the US military’s humanitarian pier operation.
Nasrallah also warned on Wednesday that Hezbollah could target Cyprus if the country allowed Israel to use its airports and bases to strike Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s ground force is also larger than Hamas’, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 fighters, according to the Congressional Research Service. Nasrallah on Wednesday said the number of fighters Hezbollah has actually “far exceeded” 100,000. Many, including their elite Radwan Force, have years of experience fighting in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime.
Despite a state of conflict existing between the two neighboring states, the Israel-Lebanon border has been the quietest for years since the end of the 2006 war, with only occasional cross-border fighting that ended relatively quickly. But Hamas’ October 7 attack radically changed the status quo between Israel and Hezbollah.
Rocket launches and drone attacks from Hezbollah have become a new reality in northern Israel, and the IDF carries out numerous strikes in southern Lebanon on a daily basis. The current hostilities, which could have started a war before October 7, have become all too routine, even as the US continues to say that neither side wants a wider conflict.
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