IDF Approves Plan for Military Offensive in Lebanon as Border Clashes Intensify

The southern Lebanese village of Marwahin following an Israeli bombardment on Dec. 26, 2023. (JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israeli military has approved a plan for a possible offensive inside Lebanon amid continued clashes with Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border.

Israel Defense Forces Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin met with the head of the IDF’s Operational Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, on June 18 to consider options.

“As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field,” the IDF said in a statement it shared on social media on June 18.

Israel’s northern military forces have been in a relatively low-level fight with Hezbollah—a U.S.- and Israeli-designated Lebanese terrorist group—for months. The clashes began shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack across southern Israel, when the Israeli military turned much of its attention south toward its campaign in the Gaza Strip.

The fighting to Israel’s north has largely consisted of cross-border rocket and drone attacks, and Israeli aerial sorties inside Lebanon. As the cross-border skirmish has grown, Israeli authorities increasingly have ordered civilians to evacuate from northern communities.

Israeli government officials have signaled they may pursue a more direct military approach to blunt the threat from Hezbollah.

“Whoever thinks he can hurt us and we will respond by sitting on our hands is making a big mistake,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a tour of Israel’s northern Kiryat Shmona community on June 6.

“We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north.”

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X this month that it was unacceptable for Israeli land to be under attack while Lebanon enjoys a relative state of peace, adding, “All Hezbollah strongholds must be burned, destroyed.”

“Mr. Prime Minister, get strength from the multitudes who are here and give the order,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told a crowd of supporters during a speech in Jerusalem on June 5.

“Go to war with Hezbollah, subdue it, destroy it, move the security strip from the Galilee to southern Lebanon. Let our heroic warriors win, restore our national honor, national pride, and security, and allow the heroic residents to return home safely.”

Any ground offensive inside Lebanon would require Israeli military forces to engage in two major theaters. The IDF continues to fight in the Gaza Strip.

International negotiators have struggled to get Hamas to agree to release hostages whom they took on Oct. 7, 2023, in exchange for a long-term halt in the fighting, increased shipments of humanitarian aid, and allowing Gaza’s population to return to their homes and begin reconstruction efforts.

President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to prevent the fighting in the Gaza Strip from spreading into more intense conflict across the broader region.

Amos Hochstein, a senior Biden adviser, met with Lebanese officials in Beirut on June 18 in hopes of stifling the ongoing conflict on Lebanon’s southern border and preventing a larger war.

“We do remain concerned about tensions along the border. And of course, we continue to encourage a diplomatic solution,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on June 18, according to a Defense Department statement.

“Preventing a wider regional conflict has been a primary focus for this department and the U.S. government writ large since Hamas’s attack on October 7th.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.