Israeli Military Chief Orders Forces to Prepare for Possible Ground Assault on Lebanon

Israeli tanks being moved amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 22, 2024. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff has told ground forces to prepare for a possible ground operation in Lebanon as fighting between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah terrorist group continues to escalate.

In a statement shared with Israeli ground troops stationed near the Lebanon border on Sept. 25, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israeli aerial forces are continuing to strike targets on the other side of the border “both to prepare the area for the possibility of [the ground troops’] entry, and also to continue harming Hezbollah.”

Last week, Israel began launching hundreds of air strikes on Lebanon, aiming to eliminate leaders of the terrorist group and destroy its military capabilities. In turn, Hezbollah has continued to launch rockets and drones at targets across Israel, including Tel Aviv.

“Hezbollah today expanded its circle of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response. You will prepare,” Halevi told troops of the Israeli Northern Command’s Seventh Armored Brigade, readying them for a potentially imminent cross-border assault.

Halevi said Hezbollah’s military arm “will see what it is like to meet a professional fighting force” and that the Israeli troops will be “much stronger” and “much more experienced” than their opponents.

He said the military operations will aim to push Hezbollah away from the border and allow for the safe return of Israeli civilians who evacuated from the north after the terrorist group first started launching rocket, missile, and drone attacks last October.

Nearly a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel had displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border before the recent escalation. Israel has vowed to do whatever it takes to ensure its citizens can return to their homes in the north, while Hezbollah has said it will keep up its rocket attacks until there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

A ground offensive in Lebanon would require the Israeli military to divide its attention between northern and southern theaters of conflict. Such an offensive could also provoke a response from Israel’s enemies throughout the region.

Like Hezbollah, the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen has launched drone and missile attacks targeting Israel since October. The Houthis have also targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea as part of what the terrorist group has described as a campaign to pressure Israel to reach a cease-fire with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

Responding to recent rounds of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Iran-linked Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks targeting Israel on Sept. 22.

Iran has also threatened retaliation against Israel since July, after concluding Israeli operatives were responsible for killing Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a July 31 blast in Tehran.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Sept. 23 announced additional U.S. troops will soon deploy to the Middle East.

Pentagon press secretary and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder did not specify exactly how many additional U.S. troops would be headed to the region but said it would be a “small number” deployed “out of an abundance of caution” amid the “increased tensions” in the region.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

This is a developing story and will be updated.