Israel‘s army chief has told his forces to prepare for a ground invasion of Lebanon as the Middle East spirals towards a seemingly inevitable wider war.
Herzi Halevi told soldiers during a drill near the Lebanese border in northern Israel: ‘We are attacking all day, both to prepare the ground for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], but also to continue striking Hezbollah.’
He added: ‘Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response. Prepare yourselves.’
Halevi told Israeli soldiers that strikes are paving the way for an impending ground invasion, adding ‘your boots… will enter enemy territory’.
The army said it was calling up ‘two reserve brigades for operational missions in the northern arena’, adding: ‘This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation.’
Hezbollah said it had targeted Israel’s Mossad spy agency on Tel Aviv’s outskirts in the morning – the first time it has fired a ballistic missile in almost a year of cross-border clashes sparked by the Gaza war.
In response, Israel said it hit 60 Hezbollah intelligence sites, among hundreds of the group’s targets struck across Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health minister said Wednesday’s strikes killed 51 people and injured 223, including in mountainous areas outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.
Meanwhile, the US and France are desperately working on ceasefire proposals to resolve the escalating fighting in Lebanon, according to three Israeli sources, who added that no significant progress has been made so far.
The American proposal includes a truce in the north to allow for a diplomatic solution, one of the officials says.
PERCEPTION RESET 