Israel’s military chief told troops on Wednesday (25) that its airstrikes in Lebanon were aimed at destroying the infrastructure of Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed militant group, and paving the way for a possible ground incursion by Israeli forces.
“You hear the jets flying overhead; we are attacking all day,” Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi told troops as he visited the country’s northern border with Lebanon.
“This serves both to prepare the ground for their possible entry and to further degrade Hezbollah.”
The aim of the incursion is to allow tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced by fire across the country’s northern border to return to their homes, Halevi said.
“To achieve this, we are preparing the process of a maneuver,” he said. “This means that their military boots, their maneuver boots, will enter enemy territory, will enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts.”
Entering Lebanon “will show them what it means to face a professional, highly skilled and battle-hardened force,” Halevi said.
It was the second time on Wednesday that a top Israeli general said a ground operation could be imminent. Israel’s top general in the north, Ori Gordin, said the military “must be fully prepared for maneuvers.”
The comments came after Israel stepped up its airstrikes in Lebanon and shot down a missile that Hezbollah said targeted the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency near Tel Aviv — the first time the Iran-backed militant group has attempted to strike so deep into Israeli territory.
Lebanon “on the brink of the abyss”
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned that Lebanon was “on the brink of the abyss”, calling on Israel and Hezbollah to “stop the killing and destruction”. He said the country was experiencing its bloodiest period “in a generation” since the conflict escalated.
Joining the push to prevent the outbreak of a regional war, the US and 10 of its allies have called for a 21-day ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday (25) asked the UN Security Council to pressure Israel for “an immediate ceasefire on all fronts”.
Asked if a ceasefire could be reached soon, Mikati told Reuters: “I hope so.”
The Lebanese Prime Minister added to the Security Council that Israel is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty with the attacks.
Hoping to avert an all-out war from the clash between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah, diplomats and leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly spent two days working hurriedly to secure a plan that would halt the fighting and give diplomacy room to take hold.
Israel and Hezbollah have yet to reach an agreement, but U.S. officials said both sides were “familiar” with the contours of the proposal and expressed optimism that the timing was right for it to be unveiled publicly.
Dead and displaced
The death toll in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday killed 81 people. At least 403 others were wounded in the attack.
Two days earlier, on Monday, an Israeli air strike left 492 people dead in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The dead included 35 children and 58 women, the ministry said, following ongoing attacks in Bekaa and Baalbek in the south of the country.
The ministry said at least 1,645 people were wounded. “Let me be clear: Hezbollah is responsible for this situation,” said Daneil Hagari, an IDF spokesman.
In addition to the dead, more than 90,000 people have been recently displaced in Lebanon, according to the UN. Some of those people will “likely” include those who fled their homes since Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel last year.
Since Tuesday, at least 6,697 Lebanese and 17,850 Syrians have crossed into Syria. Many of the refugees have no concrete plans after crossing, a spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for the Middle East warned.
Syria has formed an “operations room” to help the thousands of Syrians and Lebanese crossing into the country.
What about the Gaza Strip?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas has not been involved in ceasefire and hostage negotiations in recent weeks.
He again argued that there were few issues that needed to be resolved in a potential deal. In recent days, senior U.S. officials have largely stopped making a vigorous push for cease-fire negotiations, sources told CNN having determined that there is currently no political will on either side — Hamas or Israel — to end the conflict.
Families of hostages held in Gaza have said they fear the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could “overshadow” the plight of their loved ones.
The Israel Hostages and Missing Families Forum has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to mention those still held in Gaza in his speech on Lebanon, calling it “a blatant and total disregard for the existence of the hostages” still in the enclave.
(With information from Lauren Izso and Mohammed Tawfeeq, from CNN )
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This content was originally published in Israel prepares possible ground incursion into Lebanon amid escalating conflict with Hezbollah on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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