Israel transfers combat units to northern border, as escalation with the Hezbollah terror group appears inevitable.
By World Israel News Staff
After repeatedly warning that Israel is gearing up to take military action against Hezbollah’s non-stop rocket fire, the Israeli army has quietly transferred additional troops to the northern border with Lebanon.
The move to significantly bolster the amount of soldiers in the north, including transferring units which had previously fought in the Gaza Strip, may suggest that a major confrontation is likely in the near future.
According to a Channel 12 report, a large number of combat soldiers moved to the border area participated in a “large-scale training exercise.” The troops practiced for “extreme scenarios, fighting in hilly and mountainous terrain…and combat in urban areas.”
Although Israel has said it would prefer to see a diplomatic solution to the conflict, officials have warned that the current security situation is no longer tolerable.
Since October 8th, Hezbollah has rained down thousands of missiles, rockets, and explosive drones on northern Israel, displacing at least 60,000 Israelis from their homes.
Israel has demanded that the terror group abide by UN Resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah to keep its fighters north of the Litani River. Both the terms of the resolution and Israel’s requests from the international community to enforce it have been widely ignored.
“We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday during a diplomatic visit to Washington D.C.
“Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage” should the fighting escalate, he said.
Gallant added that Israel can bomb Lebanon “back to the Stone Age.”
In recent days, the Foreign Ministries of Canada, Germany, and Holland warned their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country while they still could, due to the potential for a full-blown war to break out between Israel and Hezbollah.
Earlier this week, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech in which he threatened a terrorist invasion of the Galilee, reminiscent of the October 7th terror onslaught, should Israel engage further with the terror group.