Israel says operations in Lebanon are The reality on the border suggests otherwise.(CNN NEWS)_
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading cross-border fire since the day after the October 7 terror attacks last year, but Israel’s launch Tuesday of what it described as a “limited” and “localized” ground operation in Lebanon have taken people on both sides into a new reality.
While Israel insists its actions in Lebanon do not amount to a major incursion, the situation on the ground seems to suggest it is preparing for the possibility of expanding its presence there.
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday it was sending an additional division — consisting of thousands of soldiers — to participate in the ground war. Driving around the border area on Tuesday, CNN saw a number of military vehicles and troops and heard fighter jets.
Hezbollah and Israel both said on Wednesday that their forces clashed in southern Lebanon, and the IDF announced that eight Israeli soldiers were killed in combat — the first casualties of the ground operation there.
Separately, Hezbollah claimed to have hit an Israeli military barracks with rockets near Shomera, on the Israel-Lebanon border, in the early hours of Wednesday.
Israel’s Rambam Hospital said there was an “incident” in the north, but that it could not comment on the numbers of people admitted for treatment.
But while these events, coupled with the noticeable troop buildup on the border, suggest the fighting might soon intensify, both Israel and Lebanon are seemingly seeking to downplay the situation.
Why would they look to downplay? Both have a good reason to do so. Israel is already facing severe criticism over the war in Gaza — and while many of its allies say they support its right to defend itself, they have called on Israel to exercise restraint in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, is desperate to project strength after being greatly weakened by a string of attacks which killed many of its top leaders, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel says operations in Lebanon are The reality on the border suggests otherwise.(CNN NEWS)_
Israel has capabilities to “strike any target in Middle East,” military official warns.
From CNN’s Niamh Kennedy and Eugenia Yosef
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has sent a stark message regarding a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, warning that Israel has the means to “strike any target in the Middle East.”
Visiting the Tel Nof Air Base on Wednesday, Halevi said Israel knows how to “locate important targets” and will respond to Iran’s attack with strikes of “precision and power.”
“We have the capabilities to reach and strike any point in the Middle East. And those of our enemies who have not yet understood this, will soon understand,” Halevi said in a video clip filmed at the base.
While Israelis across the country celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, on Wednesday, Halevi said the Israeli military is still “operating and striking on all fronts.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a similar warning in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s missile strikes from Iran, promising that Tehran “will pay” for its actions.
Netanyahu accused Tehran of failing to understand Israel’s “determination to retaliate” against its enemies and promised to strike back.
Wednesday’s comments echo Netanyahu’s first public statement after an Israeli airstrike killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, in Beirut on Friday.
“There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel will not reach,” he said.
