Israel facing all-out as 18 die in strikes
ISRAEL is preparing for all-out war with Hezbollah, as border skirmishes look set to escalate dramatically in the coming months.
While the world’s attention has been focused on Gaza, militants have fired thousands of rockets from southern Lebanon since October 7 – including 100 on a single day.
At least 11 Israeli soldiers and seven civilians have been killed. Some 70,000 residents in the north have evacuated their homes.
The Israel Defence Forces are readying troops for a possible offensive to push the terrorist group back to Lebanon’s Litani River.
Under a deal following the 2006 war, the area between the river and the border should remain free from any armed personnel, assets and weapons except for those of the government of Lebanon and UN peacekeepers.
But Israel’s diaspora minister Amichai Chikli said: “I don’t think Hezbollah is going to voluntarily evacuate the region south of the Litani.
“Therefore, as a society, militarily, we must be well prepared for the next move.
“The IDF is preparing itself for the next stage because we must secure our borders and push back Hezbollah militias.”
The Sunday Express was briefed on the situation close to the 30ft-high concrete wall marking the Israellebanon border. Lt Col Dotan
Razili, of the IDF’S Bar’am brigade, said the Litani was a natural border that Hezbollah must withdraw to.
He added: “We’re on the way to making that happen. Hezbollah has taken 250 casualties. They are paying a price and they will keep on paying a price. “We have used only the small tools in our toolbox.when we open it completely, things will look different for southern Lebanon.”
Israel has targeted
4,500 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon and Syria in the past five months. As we neared the border, phone GPS systems began showing our location as Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.
GPS signals are blocked in the region due to the threat of unmanned suicide drones loaded with 10-15kg of explosives.
Lt Col Razili, a 55-year-old reservist, lives in Kibbutz Eilon just 1.25 miles from the border. But his wife and three children have moved south.
Hezbollah is believed to have up to 30,000 fighters, including between 5,000 and 7,000 Radwan special forces, he said. The group took