Israel is Planning to Invade Lebanon – The Times, Newsweek

December 18, 2023 Blog, News
The Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah posted a video on Sunday, October 29. (Photo: Hezbollah Military Media, Video grab)

Israel attempted to invade Lebanon in 2006 but was defeated by a much weaker Hezbollah if compared to the group’s current military capabilities. 

The Israeli military has developed plans to invade neighboring Lebanon with the intent to push back the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah, which has been launching cross-border attacks on Israel in recent weeks in solidarity with Gaza, The Times and Newsweek reported on Monday.

The two publications based their reports on information provided by Israel’s military spokesman, spokesman Jonathan Conricus.

Israel and Hezbollah have seen increasing exchanges of fire since the outbreak of the latest Israeli-Palestinian war in October.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 19,453 Palestinians have been killed and 52,286 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Arab Solidarity 

Hezbollah has come out in support of Hamas and other Palestinian Resistance groups in Gaza. However, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said they will not launch a major offensive against Israel unless it was provoked or Hamas was on the verge of defeat.

Nevertheless, the Israeli military has said that it will not accept the looming threat posed by Hezbollah and has developed a plan to invade southern Lebanon to push the group up north to the Litani River, according to The Times.

Israel is concerned that Hezbollah could potentially launch an October 7-style attack in the north of Israel, according to a senior Israeli military officer who spoke with The Times. The Israeli doctrine is, therefore, to “take the war to the other side,” he said.

The Israeli army “has approved plans and defined schedules for readiness,” Conricus claimed, according to the paper. 

Newsweek similarly reported that Cornicus told journalists that while there is “a window of opportunity for peace,” Israeli forces are “prepared” to keep Israeli citizens safe.

“Just as we are now dismantling Hamas in Gaza and going about making sure that there won’t be a military threat against Israelis living in southern Israel, we will do the same thing if needed against Hezbollah,” he reportedly said.

Speaking to Russia Today in an exclusive interview last week, Hezbollah spokesman Haji Mohammad Afif said it plans to “maintain the current pace of the war,” which it described as one of “support and solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Failed Invasion

The Israeli government has not yet publicly commented on the possibility of launching a military offensive. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened that Beirut would be turned “into Gaza” if Hezbollah started an all-out war against Israel. 

Israel pulled out from Lebanon in 2000 after many years of military occupation, thanks to years of stiff Lebanese resistance. However, the Israeli army continues to occupy several regions in Lebanon, including the Shebaa Farms. 

The Israel army and airforce have habitually violated Lebanese territorial sovereignty and airspace, compelling Hezbollah to threaten retaliation. 

Israel attempted to invade Lebanon in 2006 but was defeated by a much weaker Hezbollah, if compared to the group’s current military capabilities. 

(RT, PC)

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4 Comments

  1. Two-front wars are generally very, very bad news for states trapped into waging them. Viz the Third Reich invading the Soviet Union in 1941. Israel has written a suicide note to itself, it appears. If Hizbullah has truly improved its performance since 2006, then about the only part of that offensive that will have any effect will be the aerial bombardment. And we know what that means for civilians – I have read Abbas El Zein’s Leave To Remain, and know the IAF’s method consists of naming anything they hit as the target. They’d do just as well blindfolded.

    • Sorry, I didn’t follow that story, but what I can tell you is this. The British expelled my ancestors out of Scotland years ago, to make more room for growing sheep. They expelled us to what is now Canada. Because of resources and the huge overseas distance, there was nothing we could do about it. We in turn stole the land (now Canada) from the natives (Indians) who occupied this land for hundreds of years before us. So if you want to “make everything right”, should we give back Canada to the Indians and then demand that the British repatriate all of us back to Scotland? Think about it?

      • Good point. I am of Scottish, English and Breton ancestry and currently live in Wales, Cymru to be correct, the Cymraeg could ask for all of Britain back as they were pushed into the West of Britain by invading Saxons. Seeing as we’ve all interbred since it would be impossible, genetically Palestinians and Jews of Middle Eastern descent share the same genes, Cananite. Of course with the passing of time Some Jews interbred with East Europeans, and people from Mesopotania and North Africa and some Palestinians with Egyptians and other North Africans and Turks and Kurds.

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