
Photo: Israel recently launched an airstrike on the village of Khiam on the southern border of Lebanon. \AFP
[Ta Kung Pao News]According to reports from AFP and Al Jazeera, the Israeli military said on the 18th that the operational plan to launch an offensive against Lebanon has been approved. Foreign Minister Katz warned on the same day that the Israeli army is ready to launch an “all-out war” against Lebanon in the short term to eliminate Hezbollah and severely damage Lebanon.
After the Israeli army killed a commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah in an airstrike last week, Hezbollah immediately launched a large-scale retaliation. The two sides continued to engage in fierce fighting and the situation escalated sharply.
The Israeli army said in a statement on the 18th that in response to the tension on the Israel-Lebanon border, the commander of the IDF Northern Command, Golding, and the director of the Operations Bureau, Bassiuk, approved a plan to launch a military operation in Lebanon, and the IDF will continue to improve the combat readiness of frontline troops. The statement did not mention the specific details of the combat plan.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah recently hinted that it might attack Haifa, Israel’s third largest city. Foreign Minister Katz said, “We are very close to the moment of deciding to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon.” Israel may pay a heavy price, but the whole country must unite to restore the safety of residents in the north.
Hezbollah in Lebanon said it would not stop attacking Israel unless a ceasefire was achieved in the Gaza Strip. The Pentagon said the US did not want the war in the Middle East to expand further. US President’s special envoy, Hochstein, visited Lebanon on the 18th and met with senior Lebanese parliamentarians and military officials in an attempt to ease tensions.
source: china