The Israeli army claimed on Sunday to have completed a “new phase” in its preparation for “war” on its border with Lebanon where deadly exchanges of fire with Hezbollah are intensifying. In a press release entitled “Preparing for the transition from defense to attack” and published on its website, the army indicates that it has “completed in recent days a new phase in the preparation of the northern command for war”.
These logistical measures “allow the immediate mobilization of reserve forces in the event of an emergency and their arrival on the front line in a short time with all the equipment required for combat,” she adds. His command, specifies the army, is thus able to “summon and equip all the necessary soldiers in a few hours and transport them to the front line for defensive and offensive missions”.
Tensions with Hezbollah
Since the start of the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian Hamas on October 7, there have been daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah, which supports the Palestinian Islamist movement. Hezbollah targets Israeli military positions near the border. Israel responds with raids that target deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory, and carries out targeted strikes against Hezbollah leaders.
Israeli strikes targeted eastern Lebanon at dawn on Sunday, where Hezbollah is strongly supported, said a source close to this pro-Iranian formation, with the Israeli army saying it had acted in retaliation after one of its drones were shot down in Lebanese territory. At least 359 people, mainly Hezbollah fighters, including at least 70 civilians, have been killed in Lebanon in cross-border violence for almost six months and 18 people in Israel, ten soldiers and eight civilians, according to an AFP count .
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that the army had “completed its preparations to respond to any scenario that could develop against Iran.” The leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, for his part judged on Friday “inevitable” Iran’s response to the strike attributed to Israel against the Iranian consulate on Monday in Damascus, in which seven Iranian soldiers, including two high-ranking officers, been killed. According to the leader of the pro-Iranian party, the strike on the consulate constitutes “a turning point” since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.