Small-scale operations or cross-border movements have begun, or will soon begin, into Lebanon in order to disable Hezbollah positions located right on the border with Israel, ABC News reported on Sunday morning, citing two American sources.
The report comes hours after other reports in U.S. media, including by CNN, which reported that Israel is preparing for a ground maneuver in Lebanon. The sources who spoke with ABC emphasized that Israel does not appear to have finally decided whether to launch a ground operation against Hezbollah, but, according to them, it is ready for it.
The officials also emphasized, as recently clarified by IDF officials, that if a ground operation happens its scope will be limited. The key is fulfilling the promise to Israelis that the tens of thousands displaced from northern Israel will be able to go home. To do that, decapitating Hezbollah is not enough, the officials said, referring to the assassination of the leader of the Shiite terrorist organization Hassan Nasrallah on Friday night.
The reports come as Israeli officials signal that the elimination of Hezbollah will indeed not be enough to complete the goal of returning the residents of the north to their homes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified in a televised statement on Saturday night that Israel will "continue to strike at its enemies," and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that he was holding an operational situation assessment, "with an emphasis on the readiness of the IDF forces to expand offensive activity in the northern sector," with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who himself said after the elimination of Nasrallah that the IDF had not completed using its "toolbox."
The US officials who spoke with ABC also referred to reports of tensions between Israel and the Biden administration following the assassination of Nasrallah, which Washington publicly insists it was not informed about in advance, although according to officials it did receive an advance update of "few minutes notice at best."
In response to reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "blew up" when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed him about Nasrallah, the officials said, "We do bear a lot of risks" in the region, and their people were not given a lot of notice to prepare for possible hostile responses to the assassination, which did not please U.S. officials.
In addition, according to one source, U.S. "interests in the region could be badly harmed" if U.S. officials lose their contacts with the Israelis.
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US President Joe Biden is calling for a diplomatic solution
(Photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
According to the sources, the U.S. approach has not changed; it believes that only a diplomatic settlement is a long-term solution to the crisis. They also noted that a military campaign might lay the groundwork for such a solution.
President Joe Biden himself was asked Saturday night by reporters whether Israel's ground entry into Lebanon is inevitable, and he answered evasively: ""It's time for a cease-fire." When asked whether Washington would respond to missile attacks on American warships in the Red Sea, he said: "We are responding."
Meanwhile, the extensive bombings against Hezbollah targets continue, as part of the Northern Arrows operation. Israeli Air Force fighter jets, under the direction of the Northern Command, attacked terrorist targets in the territory of Lebanon overnight, the IDF spokesman announced on Sunday morning. The targets attacked included rocket launchers aimed at Israel, buildings where weapons were stored and military structures belonging to the terrorist organization. The IDF spokesman also noted that over the past day, the army attacked hundreds of Hezbollah terrorist targets throughout Lebanon.