Israel boosts military readiness amid escalating tensions with Hezbollah
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday that plans for an offensive against Lebanon have been approved, and a decision was made to increase the military readiness of ground forces constantly. Israel warned that it would not tolerate the presence of Lebanese Hezbollah at its northern border, reports the Times of Israel.
6:18 AM EDT, June 19, 2024
"As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated," the army's statement reads.
"The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk approved Lebanon battle plans today" - reports the Times of Israel.
On the night from Thursday to Friday, Lebanese Hezbollah launched at least 30 drones towards the headquarters of Israel's northern command in a coordinated strike, which was the most significant drone attack by this group on the Jewish state so far. The Lebanese group also launched approximately 100 rockets, marking the most critical attack of this kind since Hezbollah began bombarding Israel after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
So far, US diplomatic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has helped avoid war with Lebanon. However, in recent weeks, tension on the northern border of the Jewish state has been steadily rising. Israel announced that if this problem is not resolved by diplomatic means, it will attempt to push Hezbollah northwards through a military operation, the Times of Israel recalls.
