IDF explains targeted incursions into Lebanon

Tel Aviv will not tolerate another Oct. 7-style attack on any of its borders, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday. He accused Hezbollah of planning just such an attack, which the terror group has allegedly called, Conquer the Galilee. As part of the plan, Hezbollah militants would flood out of Lebanese villages tucked up against Israel’s border communities to massacre Israeli citizens, Hagari said. To prevent these and other attacks, Israeli forces were conducting targeted incursions into Lebanon. Those incursions aimed only to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure along the Israel-Lebanon border, Hagari said.

The IDF also revealed on Tuesday that it had already carried out dozens of ground operations in Lebanon since the war began. Hagari clarified that Israel does not seek to harm Lebanese civilians—only Hezbollah militants. The IDF was taking steps to prevent civilian casualties, Hagari insisted. Hezbollah is the world’s largest non-state army, Hagari said. The United Nations Security Council has banned non-governmental military bodies from gathering in Lebanon, Hagari said. Even so, Hezbollah still remains active. If the state of Lebanon and the rest of the world cannot keep it away from Israel’s northern border, then Tel Aviv has no choice but to protect itself, Hagari insisted.

What does the international community have to say about this? Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell on Monday chaired an online meeting of European Union leaders from Mexico. The European Union called for a cease-fire in the region, he said. But Borrell also called for the enforcement of the United Nations Security Council’s ban on the buildup of groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon. He also pleaded with world leaders to provide support to the Lebanese military—unaffiliated with Hezbollah—so that it would have the military power to counter Hezbollah and take control of southern Lebanon.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift yesterday about the beginning of Israel’s ground incursions into Lebanon.