The Third Lebanon War has started, according to Israel’s Army Radio. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ground troops crossed into Lebanon early this week to clear out Hezbollah bases that are a threat to Israeli towns.
The IDF seems to have crossed into Lebanon near the town of Metula, which used to be Israel’s northernmost town before it took over the Golan Heights. This is the “finger” or “panhandle” of Israel’s Galilee area.
In an English-language statement, the IDF said:
“A few hours ago, the IDF began restricted, localized, and targeted ground raids in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah terrorist targets and equipment based on accurate information. This was aligned with the political level. You can find these targets in border towns. People who live in northern Israel are directly at risk from them. For the IDF to work, the General Staff and the Northern Command made a thorough plan. Soldiers have trained for months to get ready for this plan.”
“As troops on the groundwork to destroy military targets in the area, the Israeli Air Force and IDF Artillery are working together to help. Political decisions made at the highest level allowed these actions to happen.”
From what we know so far, Operation “Northern Arrows” will go on, along with battles in Gaza and other places. That is still their goal: to win the war. To protect Israelis and get people from northern Israel back to their homes, they are doing everything they can.
Israel’s security cabinet decided on a new war goal two weeks before the ground attack: making sure that people from northern Israel who had to leave their homes when Hezbollah started firing in October can safely go back to them.
Army Radio says the goal of the war is not to take over southern Lebanon or make a “security zone”, but to get rid of Hezbollah camps and other places where terrorists have been firing on Israelis.