Last time Israel did that…40 years ago?
It didn’t go so well for them….
But?
One NEVER knows, eh?
Israel is still hunting Hamas leaders to be taken out….
Israeli commando units have made brief incursions into Lebanese territory in recent days to prepare for a possible wider invasion targeting Hezbollah, but American officials said on Monday that they believed that the invasion would be a limited one.
Israel is planning smaller, targeted incursions, these officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations and intelligence reports. The American officials said that they had been trying to dissuade Israel from a major ground invasion, and cautioned that they believed those efforts had been productive.
The raids — confirmed by seven Israeli officers and officials, along with one Western official — have focused on gathering intelligence about Hezbollah positions close to Israel’s northern border, as well as on identifying Hezbollah tunnels and military infrastructure in preparation to attack the Iran-backed group from the air or the ground.
The officials all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military matter. The incursions follow months of similar covert missions in which Israeli special forces briefly crossed into Lebanon for reconnaissance, but they have increased in intensity in recent days as commanders have prepared for a wider maneuver, three of the officials said.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, has hinted that Israel could send ground troops into Lebanon. On Monday, he told mayors from Israeli towns along the border with Lebanon that “the next stage of the war against Hezbollah will soon commence.”
In a statement released by his office, Mr. Gallant pledged that the next phase would “constitute a significant factor in changing the security situation,” allowing the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled Hezbollah rocket fire over the past year to return to their homes.
The preparations come as Israel conducts far-reaching attacks across the Middle East aimed at Iranian-backed militias including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, released an English-language video addressing the Iranian public, saying, “The people of Iran should know — Israel stands with you.” He also reiterated his threats against Iran, saying: “There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country.”
Here’s what else to know:
-
Hamas official killed: Hamas said on Monday that its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sherif, had been killed with his family in an airstrike on a refugee camp for Palestinians in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said he had coordinated Hamas’s ties with Hezbollah. The main United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Monday that Mr. Sherif had been an employee of the agency but had been placed on leave in March after it received allegations “about his political activities.”
-
Hezbollah’s future: Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah, said in a televised address on Monday that the group would name a leader to replace Hassan Nasrallah “at the closest opportunity.” Israel killed Mr. Nasrallah on Friday in a bombardment in a densely populated neighborhood near Beirut and launched dozens more attacks on Hezbollah targets on Sunday, targeting rocket launchers and buildings that Israel said the militia had used to store weapons.
-
Beirut strike: Israel said it was behind a blast in Beirut that hit a residential building overnight. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a militant group based in Lebanon and Gaza, said that three of its members had been killed in the blast in the largely Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Cola. The group is mostly known for airline hijackings and bombings decades ago. It was the first known Israeli attack in central Beirut since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war there in 2006.
-
Yemen: Israeli warplanes attacked power plants and shipping infrastructure on Sunday in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthi militia has been conducting attacks against Israel and menacing trade in the Red Sea. The Houthis have been acting in solidarity with Hamas, which is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.
-
Gaza: An Israeli strike in northern Gaza on Sunday killed at least four Palestinians and wounded several others, according to the Palestinian civil defense. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants who were using a school turned shelter as a command and control center…..
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is trying to help Lebanese Hezbollah recover from the severe disruption that Israel has imposed upon it.
Update on this coming later…