Despite some of the early losses in the first days of ground combat against Hezbollah, the IDF forces continue to push North towards the Litani River in the eastern sector of South Lebanon where Israel is closest to the key river.
The IDF announced that its 91st “Galilee” Regional Division began ground operations last night in southern Lebanon, joining two other divisions already operating there against Hezbollah. This division is normally responsible the entire Lebanon border area. It launched ground operations with the Alexandroni, 8th and Alon reserve brigades
Reports from Arab channels claim that the IDF is now positioning more forces in the western part of northern Israel opposite the Lebanese village of Yarine.
The opening up of a second front against Hezbollah should send a signal of the seriousness of Israel’s intent on capturing the area of south of the Litani River. Israel does not intend to make this campaign a repeat of the 2006 debacle that saw the IDF sent into Lebanon only to receive heavy losses for no clear cut goal.
The multi-front war against Iran and its proxies has now united Israelis in demanding Israel hold onto some sort of buffer zone in southern Lebanon for the foreseeable future. The Litani river is clearly where this buffer zone’s northern boundary will be.
The key to making this happen is the IDF’s push northward to the Litani before the US elections. Unlike in 2006, the military planers seem intent on capturing as much land as possible in as short amount of time as possible without being bogged down in cities like Bint Jbeil where it lost many soldiers in 2006. The IDF will clean these places out after it stretches its dominance over the entirety of southern Lebanon.
As long as Iran can be kept from rearming Hezbollah and Russia and Turkey stay out, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement about reshaping the Middle East appears to be on track. Between the “Generals Plan” that will see Israel control the northern third of Gaza and a buffer zone filling up much of South Lebanon, Netanyahu is likely going to push for a de facto redrawing of Israel’s boundaries similar to the IDF’s liberation of the Golan after the 1967 and 1973 wars. This ultimately led to the Israeli annexation of those territories.
Israel wants this Lebanon war to be its last and the only way to ensure that is to incorporate southern Lebanon and make it northern Israel. This will break the artificial borders the British and French placed on the region, readjusting it to make more sense for Israel by giving it the natural boundaries it needs to protect itself. It will also free those non-Shiites in southern Lebanon to finally be freed from their Jihadist occupiers.