IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Ronen Manelis on Monday morning issued a follow-up statement saying “the IDF will increase its forces on land, sea and air, and we are prepared for any scenario.”
“We are currently operating in our territory,” Manelis added. “The activity is expected to expand. Hezbollah is using Shiite villages to build its infrastructure, and it is impossible to leave the situation as it is. We may also act against the precision missiles project.”
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last September boasted his terror group had attained precision-guided missiles, in defiance of spite of Israeli repeated attempts at preventing this.
“I tell [Israel] no matter what it did to cut the [supply] route, it is over. It has already been achieved,” Nasrallah said, suggesting Hezbollah “now possesses precision missiles and non-precision weapons capabilities.”
The IDF believes Hezbollah has between 100,000 and 120,000 short-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred longer-range missiles, and that Iran has been instrumental in establishing underground factories in southern Lebanon where many of these missiles are enhanced with GPS guides to improve their accuracy.
Meanwhile, Lebanese president Michel Aoun on Monday morning received US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard to discuss the current developments in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s Channel 10 News cited a Lebanese source saying Lebanese army units have been deployed along the border to monitor Israel’s activities.
United Nations forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Monday morning tweeted: “We call on all parties to use UNIFIL liaison and coordination mechanisms to maintain calm on the border between Lebanon and Israel.”
On Sunday night, the US State Dept. issued a statement following Secretary Pompeo’s meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, saying “the Secretary emphasized the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and absolute right to self-defense and to fighting anti-Israeli bias at the United Nations.” The statement went on to say “Secretary Pompeo noted the strength of the US-Israel alliance and our multifaceted cooperation. He reiterated America’s resolve in confronting the totality of the Iranian regime’s threats through maximum pressure.”
