Israeli Commandos Have Made Brief Raids Into Lebanon In Recent Days
Israeli commandos have made brief raids into Lebanon in recent days, officials say.
Image
Soldiers next to a tank in a field, with a line of trees behind it and a hillside seen through haze beyond that.
An Israeli tank in a staging area in northern Israel, on Sunday.Credit...Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times
Israeli commando units have made brief incursions across the border into Lebanon in recent days to prepare the ground for a possible wider invasion in the near future, according to six Israeli officers and officials.
The officials said the raids had focused on gathering intelligence about Hezbollah positions close to the border, as well as on identifying Hezbollah tunnels and military infrastructure in preparation to attack from the air or the ground. The officials all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military matter.
The officials said that Israel had not made a final decision about whether or when to launch a major ground operation in Lebanon, which would be Israel’s first there since 2006.
The brief raids follow months of similar covert missions in which Israeli special forces briefly crossed the border to destroy some Hezbollah fortifications but did not attempt to prepare the ground for an invasion, according to four of the officials.
In recent days, the incursions have increased in intensity and ambition, two of the officials said, as commanders prepared for a wider maneuver.
It is unclear how much land Israel hopes to occupy in any ground operation, or if it intends to advance more than a few hundred yards inside southern Lebanon.
The Israeli government’s declared goal is to make the border area safe enough for tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by Hezbollah rocket fire over the last year to return to their homes.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians have also been displaced by Israeli fire on the other side of the border.
Israeli Commandos Have Made Brief Raids Into Lebanon In Recent Days
Israeli commandos have made brief raids into Lebanon in recent days, officials say.
Image
Soldiers next to a tank in a field, with a line of trees behind it and a hillside seen through haze beyond that.
An Israeli tank in a staging area in northern Israel, on Sunday.Credit...Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times
Israeli commando units have made brief incursions across the border into Lebanon in recent days to prepare the ground for a possible wider invasion in the near future, according to six Israeli officers and officials.
The officials said the raids had focused on gathering intelligence about Hezbollah positions close to the border, as well as on identifying Hezbollah tunnels and military infrastructure in preparation to attack from the air or the ground. The officials all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military matter.
The officials said that Israel had not made a final decision about whether or when to launch a major ground operation in Lebanon, which would be Israel’s first there since 2006.
The brief raids follow months of similar covert missions in which Israeli special forces briefly crossed the border to destroy some Hezbollah fortifications but did not attempt to prepare the ground for an invasion, according to four of the officials.
In recent days, the incursions have increased in intensity and ambition, two of the officials said, as commanders prepared for a wider maneuver.
It is unclear how much land Israel hopes to occupy in any ground operation, or if it intends to advance more than a few hundred yards inside southern Lebanon.
The Israeli government’s declared goal is to make the border area safe enough for tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by Hezbollah rocket fire over the last year to return to their homes.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians have also been displaced by Israeli fire on the other side of the border.