The Economist revealed Israel's plans to launch a ground operation in Lebanon
Israel is preparing a ground operation in Lebanon to create a buffer zone. The Economist reported on September 22 that.
"Israel is planning a ground offensive that will involve seizing a buffer zone consisting of several miles of territory north of the border," military sources told the magazine.
The publication noted that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) combat units trained on Saturday at northern bases, but had not yet begun assembling in staging areas near the border.
"The plans for a ground invasion are ready. But we are still far from having enough forces to execute them," the source commented."
According to the magazine, Israel's latest strategic decisions have caused divisions within its top military and political echelons. Some are calling for a rapid escalation, arguing that Israel should take advantage of the chaos within the ranks of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement. Others, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, advocate a more gradual strategy that they hope will give Hezbollah a chance to reconsider its position and retreat.
That said, The Economist does not call the current events a "full-scale war." According to the publication, Hezbollah, in the event of a transition to full-scale hostilities, will begin to use longer-range missiles to destroy targets in central Israel and will conduct raids on Jewish territory. Israel, in turn, would intensify its bombardment of the Shiite movement's rocket depots and launch pads, as well as resort to strikes on civilian infrastructure.
On the night of September 22, the IDF reported that Lebanon struck Israeli territory with 10 rockets. Hezbollah indicated that the target was the Israeli Air Force Ramat David airbase, which is about 50 kilometers from the Lebanese border. On the same day, it was reported that more than 100 rockets were launched from Lebanon, which were intercepted or fell in open terrain.
The day before, on September 21, Israel imposed a special situation in the north of the country due to the threat of shelling from Lebanon. In particular, there appeared restrictions on meetings there: groups on the street should not be more than 30 people, and indoors - more than 300.
On September 20, Israel targeted Lebanon's capital Beirut - the IDF sought to eliminate Hezbollah Shiite commander Ibrahim Aqil, who is a member of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah's top military body, the Jihad Council. The movement confirmed Akil's death. Fifteen other members of the movement were killed along with him, including senior commanders of the Radwan special forces. The country's health ministry later said the number of victims of the attack had risen to 45.
On September 19, the Israel Defense Forces said its military launched a series of attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, hitting 100 launchers and facilities of the group.
On Sept. 17, multiple people were seriously injured in pager explosions in Beirut and southern Lebanon. The next day, various wireless devices exploded in cars and on motorcycles. These were portable radios, which were different from pagers. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah officials blamed Israel for the bombings.
Later, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog said that Tel Aviv was not involved in the explosion of pagers in Lebanon, because he did not want to go to war with it. The head of state noted that Hezbollah has many ill-wishers who are capable of such a thing.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, as well as invaded the border areas in the south of the country and took hostages. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.
