Mick Ryan
Israel might again conduct a ground operation into southern Lebanon.
As a possible prelude to such an operation, the Israelis this week conducted an air strike that appears to have decapitated the Hezbollah Radwan force leadership, a special force designed to infiltrate into northern Israel. Israel also targeted and destroyed many of Hezbollah’s missiles in their storage locations (particularly in fake houses) in southern Lebanon. Around 1600 strikes were conducted by the IDF, which is a very significant level of effort for their Air Force.
There were many casualties on the ground, and the balance of civilians and Hezbollah in the casualty numbers remains unknown. While these strikes have been destructive, Hezbollah is estimated to possess somewhere between 100 and 200 thousand missiles of varying range and precision. Therefore, just how much of an impact these strikes will have on Hezbollah’s capacity to attack Israel remains to be seen.
In the past day, Hezbollah also launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv. The alleged target was the headquarters of Mossad. The missile was intercepted by the IDF, but was an indication of Hezbollah capacity, and the potential for further escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
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