Israel steps up the offensive against Hezbollah in an attempt to gain ground in Lebanon

Despite US efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli forces continue to expand operations against the militant group with heavy airstrikes and increasing ground incursions into Lebanese territory.

The current proposal to end the conflict is similar to the agreement that ended the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. It calls for an initial 60-day ceasefire, during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah armed presence along the border with the country. southern border.

US envoys were in Israel last week to discuss the proposal, but its current status is now unclear in light of Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential election.

The diplomacy comes as fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants intensifies. The escalating conflict, now in its thirteenth month, began when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli targets in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack – the massacre and mass kidnapping in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

One of the main hotspots in Lebanon is the southern city of Khiam, which is located 6 kilometers north of the Israeli border and is of both strategic and symbolic importance.

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Hezbollah recently reported heavy fighting with Israeli forces in and around Khiam, representing the IDF’s deepest incursion into southern Lebanon since it launched a ground operation in late September.

Although Hezbollah is capable of damaging Israel and its armed forces with missiles and drone systems, military analysts say the militant group could struggle to maintain control of Khiam given its tactical significance and the IDF’s array of high-tech weapons.

Agnés Hélou, a Lebanese analyst from Breaking Defense, a defense and security news channel, said unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have been identified around Khiam.

“We have seen the presence of UGVs such as the M113, an (old) armored vehicle… that the Israelis have transformed into an autonomous (operating system),” she told Euronews.

“This could be used for surveillance or it could be exploited as a suicide land drone, like a suicide armored vehicle that can explode.”

Yossi Kuperwasser, a former head of Israel’s military intelligence and a senior official, said Israel has UGVs that “can be used for a variety of purposes,” including urban fighting.

Still, Kuperwasser – who is now an Israeli intelligence and security expert – said he could not “go into the technical procedures” or provide further details.

Increasing Israeli incursion

Taking control of the Khiam area is a priority for the IDF for two main reasons, analysts say.

First, the region is home to Hezbollah tunnels and hideouts. Second, the occupation of Khiam would allow the IDF to open a broader front against Hezbollah. According to Kuperwasser, the line would extend from southern Lebanon to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

“(Khiam) and the area surrounding it are geographically located at a strategic point in southern Lebanon,” he said.

“This whole area is mountainous, and therefore controlling the villages and the roads there is very important (for the IDF),” Kuperwasser explained, adding that the area would also be seen as a gateway to the Shebaa Farms, a 39 square meters large area. A one kilometer stretch of land along the Israel-Lebanon border that Israel has controlled since 1967. Both Syria and Lebanon claim the territory is Lebanese.

Kuperwasser says the IDF’s official goal is to eliminate Hezbollah’s ballistic arsenal with surgical operations, using advanced weapons and innovative AI systems to eliminate the militants’ missile and drone fleets.

Although Hezbollah’s overall military capability pales in comparison to that of the IDF, the group is considered by conflict experts to be the best-armed non-state actor in the world.

“They mainly use short-range missiles that they launch from nearby villages to the places where the attacks or the ongoing clashes are taking place,” Hélou said.

But experts say Hezbollah also has medium- and long-range missiles that can hit targets and infrastructure across Israel – and Kuperwasser said Israel is trying to gain ground in Lebanon and expand its front because the IDF has “underestimated” the range of some missiles. of Hezbollah’s weapons.

For example, Hezbollah’s anti-tank missiles can hit targets up to 9 kilometers away, about double the range the IDF previously expected, he said.

“This gives a different depth to the battlefield,” he added.

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Ultimately, the Biden administration has said it hopes a ceasefire can prevent the fighting in Lebanon from becoming as destructive as the conflict in Gaza.

According to the Lebanese government, more than 3,000 people have been killed by Israeli raids and strikes, and at least 1.2 million people have been displaced, mostly in recent months.

The latest firefights between the IDF and Hezbollah were bloody; Lebanese authorities said at least 20 people were killed after an attack on Tuesday. Israeli airstrike on Barjaa city just south of Beirut.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched attacks on the southern town of Nabatieh – just 25 kilometers from Khiam – after issuing evacuation orders for specific neighborhoods.

Fears are growing in Lebanon that the conflict could quickly intensify after the crisis appointment of Israel Katz as Israel’s new Defense Minister by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.

Katz has vowed to “defeat” Hezbollah to facilitate the return home of people in northern Israel uprooted by the fighting.