Can The IDF Reach Their Goals Before Tuesday’s US Election?

by David Mark
1.8K views

Although Israel’s war with Hezbollah appears to be moving far slower than many Israelis believed it would, the IDF has made some serious gains and are now in near complete control of the border area. Their latest win was the capture of Hassan Aqil Jawed, the Hezbollah commander of the Ayta al-Shaab region along with three of his Radwan force soldiers. If the intelligence gained from Jawed’s capture and interrogation corroborates other assessments, his surrender will have very real implications on the IDF’s ability to achieve initial success up north before Tuesday’s US election.

His capture and the droves of intelligence he gave during his interrogation will not only save countless IDF lives, but change how the IDF moves forward from a tactical perspective. Given the need to move forward as fast they can, Hassan Aqil Jawad’s capture can be seen as a critical breakthrough.

The debate on IDF control of Lebanon post war is what many believe is slowing the soldiers on the ground up. One wing of the IDF leadership appears to believe that controlling Hezbollah’s direct line of site into Israel’s northern communities is enough. The other group believes that anywhere between 10km and the Litani River is necessary. Other options include a tiered system that incorporates control up to the Litani with local support from Druze and Christian communities and then mining anything within 4km of the border - creating a no-go zone.

Whatever the decision, it is clear, the consensus in the IDF and political echelon is that some sort of permanent IDF presence in Lebanon is necessary.

Caution Before The US Election

With the US election days away, a last ditch attempt by the Biden administration to get to a ceasefire in Lebanon appears to be underway as Amos Hochstein and others arrived this week from Washington and DC. Their claim that there is a deal on the table is merely spin, given Israel’s push northward. What is going on is that the IDF is strengthening its presence in areas it has captured while the US team is here.

If Trump does in fact win on Tuesday, expect the IDF to push ever farther north. Trump wants the war to be finished by the time he takes office, which means Israel three months to get it done. If Harris wins and Israel wants to keep up some sort o relationship with what many will consider to be the most antagonistic US administration ever to the Jewish State, Israel will have to make do with whatever territory it has gained.  If it is only what they have now – it may not be enough to prevent Hezbollah from directly attacking Israeli residents in the northern part of the country. 

This is why time is of the essence.














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