Next Lebanon War Will Be Different

October 9, 2012

Between the Islamist dawn in Egypt, the bloody uprising in Syria, and the overall instability in the Middle East, the situation in Lebanon is seen as fairly stable, but “any escalation can result in rocket fire on central Israel,” a senior officer said. “The next war will be different. We'll have to attack with more force, more violently, [in order] to halt any assault of the home front as quickly as possible.”

Israel is aware that the deployment of ground forces “has a serious impact on Hizbullah’s launching abilities,” he continued, adding that ground maneuvers “will cause them massive damage. Even if we go only after their military infrastructure…there will be a completely different ratio between the explosives used on Lebanon and those used on Israel.”

The officer added that, while any conflict that would bring into play a full-on Israeli response could be over within five or six days, “we will undoubtedly suffer quite a few casualties, both among IDF ranks and in the home front. This is why a ground deployment would be a must.”

The IDF has clear indication that Hizbullah has increased its reconnaissance efforts along the northern border. Most recently, the IDF has been able to detect a Hizbullah tactical command post set up in the Lebanese village of Kila, directly across the border from the northern Israeli city of Metula.

“Generally, our policy is not to be the ones to fire first, but once we are fired upon, we will react with full force,” a senior GOC Northern Command officer said. “We will shoot to kill.” The IDF is marking what has been lauded as the six “most stable years we've seen in the sector since the 1970s.”

But Hizbullah movements on the border are evident, and military sources said that there is no doubt that the Shiite terror group is getting its funding from Iran.  Brigadier-General Harzi Halevy, commander of the IDF's Galilee Division, said that the military “is thoroughly and professionally preparing for the possibility of another war, taking into account that the enemy possesses varied fire power, and it is well hidden within civilian society.”

The next war, he added, will see the IDF “strike with full force. We will have to go inside [Lebanon] and wreak havoc—not as punishment, but because that is where the enemy is. A third conflict will see Lebanon suffer more than it did during the second one. We will give the Lebanese army the chance not to be 'the enemy,' but any attack will be met with an offensive, and they will be easier to handle than Hizbullah,” Halevy said.

Source: Excerpts of an article by Israel Defense Forces

Photo Credit: Israel Defense Forces