Commander of the Northern Command, Major General Uri Gordin, recently recommended in closed discussions to allow the IDF to occupy a security buffer area in southern Lebanon that would be under Israeli control, Israel Hayom reported on Monday, citing sources who were close to the proceeding. Gordin explained that recently created conditions would allow the IDF to carry out such a move in a short time, as many members of the Radwan force, Hezbollah’s elite unit, who were deployed near the border fence, have either been killed or fled north.
On top of that, there has also been a significant departure of the civilian population from the villages of southern Lebanon. It is estimated that only 20% of the residents who lived there on the eve of October 7 remained. Such a decrease in the civilian population would allow the IDF to maneuver quickly and with few complications, according to the report.
The purpose of the maneuver is to remove the threat and push away the Hezbollah forces, so they no longer pose a threat to the residents of the north, and also to gain leverage toward reaching a permanent settlement – since Hezbollah would be motivated to get the IDF to withdraw.
BREAKING: The Israeli Air Force has unleashed a barrage on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah must be destroyed. pic.twitter.com/Z1Vh2NvLtV
— Vivid.?? (@VividProwess) September 15, 2024
In recent days, there have also been voices in Israel calling to bomb the bridges over the Litani River, making it more difficult for Hezbollah to send more troops and supplies to the south, especially after the start of the rainy season.
Such moves could be the start of a significant and broad campaign against Hezbollah, which may develop into an all-out war. Such a war would certainly include at least a few days, if not weeks, of heavy Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on civilian centers throughout Israel.
Still, Israel’s political echelon sees the failure of US diplomatic efforts to reach a political settlement with Hezbollah, which continues to pound Israel with dozens of missiles each day, as leaving no choice but to launch a significant military operation to return some 80,000 civilian residents of the north to their homes.
Major General Gordin was born in San Diego, California, where his parents stayed during their studies. In 1971 his family returned to Israel and he grew up in Kibbutz Yotvata in the Arava Valley.
