The IDF announced Wednesday afternoon that it will mobilize two reserve brigades of combined infantry and tanks for operational missions in the north. The call-up comes as fighting in the Northern Arrows operation against Hezbollah on the northern border continues.
The mobilization "will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the defense of the State of Israel, and create the conditions to enable the residents of northern Israel to return to their homes," the IDF spokesperson's office said in a statement.
The Chief of the General Staff at an Exercise in the North
(IDF)
Meanwhile, the political-security cabinet is set to meet Wednesday evening in the underground bunker of defense headquarters at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv.
The mobilized reserve brigades are integrated armored-infantry brigades that have previously been mobilized in this war, and will return to increase the defensive operations in the Galilee Division, as well as participating in a ground invasion of Lebanon if one begins.
Earlier on Wednesday Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin said Israel has 'entered a different stage of the campaign' and threatened a ground entry into Lebanon, after another morning with dozens of rockets launched in attacks on areas of northern Israel, and waves of Israel Air Force attacks from the air throughout Lebanon, including north and south of Beirut. "We have entered another phase of the campaign. We must be fully prepared for a ground incursion and action," Gordin said during a visit to the 7th Brigade's divisional exercise on the northern border, to assess the readiness of the commanders and soldiers.
Gordin said that the Northern Arrows operation “began with significant strikes on Hezbollah’s capabilities, focusing on their firepower and a severe blow to their commanders and personnel. In light of this, we need to change the security situation."
The political-security cabinet will meet Wednesday night, hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes off to the United States to give a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York . Netanyahu has postponed his trip again, and will only fly to the United States Thursday morning, instead of Wednesday evening. Before the cabinet meeting, he will hold limited consultations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave for his UN speech tomorrow (Thursday) instead of tonight, and will return on Saturday evening," his office said in a statement. "Throughout today, the Prime Minister will hold consultations with security officials in order to discuss the continuation of the attacks in Lebanon," the statement also said.
The announcement from Netanyahu's office came about an hour after Hezbollah expanded the circle of fire - and for the first time ever fired a missile from Lebanon into the center of the country . The IDF reported that one surface-to-surface missile was launched from Lebanon and, according to reports, it was aimed at the Camp Glilot intelligence military base, near Herzliya.
Meanwhile, the IDF spokesman announced that Israeli Air Force fighter jets had completed attacks on 60 Hezbollah intelligence targets. The strikes destroyed surveillance equipment, command centers and other infrastructure used by the group for intelligence gathering, according to the military.
The IDF spokesman also announced that, as part of the Northern Arrows operation against Hezbollah, about 280 targets in Lebanon were attacked during the day, including the launchers from which the rocket launches were carried out Wednesday morning toward Safed, Nahariya and the Jezreel Valley area. In addition, terrorists, ammunition depots and launchers ready for launch were also attacked, as well as military infrastructure of the terror organization. In addition, the IDF attacked ammunition depots and military infrastructure in the Nabatia region and other areas in the south of the country.
The army is concentrating its efforts on attacks against the terrorist organization's intelligence infrastructure, as well as against long-range missiles.
IDF strike on cruise missile's location
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"They have a lot to lose if Hezbollah increases the range of fire," said a senior member of the General Staff yesterday. He added that "the assassinations have an effect on Hezbollah's ability to command, which has been severely damaged."
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced 23 dead and 95 wounded in Wednesday's attacks in Lebanon. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that more than 95,000 displaced people have left southern Lebanon so far, after the expansion of Israeli attacks there.
According to the report, the displaced are staying n schools that have been turned into shelters in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the Sidon area, al-Baqaa, Baalbek, al-Harmel, Bekhar and in the north of the country. It was also reported that the internal security personnel who were supposed to operate according to the government's emergency plan did not show up, and that the displaced were left to their fate. Only "social solidarity and civil initiatives" managed to alleviate the situation, the report said.