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IDF warns Hezbollah planning incursion into Israel during next conflict

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A senior IDF officer warned yesterday that in a future conflict, Hezbollah would accompany massive rocket fire with an attempt to momentarily capture Israeli territory.

Israel’s border with Lebanon has been largely quiet since the month-long 2006 Second Lebanon War, during which Israeli forces attempted to quell substantial Hezbollah rocket fire on northern Israeli communities. Haaretz quotes the officer’s overall assessment that Hezbollah currently has “no interest in another war against Israel,” but that “under certain circumstances the region could ignite once again.”

Should such a conflict take place, Channel Two said that Hezbollah has an estimated 100,000 rockets at its disposal, 10 times the arsenal which Hamas controlled before Operation Protective Edge, posing a significant challenge to the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The unnamed IDF officer predicted that massive rocket fire would be accompanied by a Hezbollah ground incursion including the possible capture of an area such as the border town of Rosh Hanikra for 3-4 hours. Quoted in Haaretz, the officer said, “We would be deluding ourselves and the public if we claimed that this was impossible.” Providing reassurance though, he added, “I can say that if it does capture part of our land, we have the capabilities to take it back.”

The officer said that Hezbollah has “likely” been preparing tunnels similar to those used by Hamas to attack Israel this summer, “but I don’t know of any tunnel in the area that is ready for attack.” He added that Hezbollah had improved its military capability by fighting alongside President Assad’s forces during the Syrian Civil War. As a result, “If Gaza took 50 days, it’s possible the war [with Hezbollah] will last four months. The campaign could be short, but it could also be long.”

Hezbollah fighters are reported to be increasingly visible along the Israeli border. In March, they detonated two explosives against an IDF convoy in the Mount Dov region and have also targeted Israeli forces along the Syrian border in recent months.