BICOM

An IDF battalion commander posted on Israel’s border with Lebanon has warned that Hezbollah is acting in a similar way to the preparations it made before the war in 2006.

The month-long conflict saw Hezbollah fire around 4,000 rockets at northern Israel, killing 43 Israeli civilians. It is estimated that Hezbollah now has an arsenal of around 100,000 rockets at its disposal, ten times the number of rockets Hamas possessed before Operation Protective Edge. Their range is thought to cover all of Israel.

Speaking to Channel Two, Lt. Col. Eliav Elbaz said that Hezbollah is “obsessively gathering [information] about everything happening here, everything our security forces [are doing],” in a manner which is “reminiscent of what they did before the Second Lebanon War.” Elbaz added that this is despite the fact that Hezbollah is “up to their necks in the war in Syria.”

Hezbollah continues to fight alongside President Assad’s forces in Syria and is thought to have suffered serious casualties, in terms of both numbers and the seniority of some of those killed. Although many had assumed that Hezbollah’s deep involvement in Syria’s Civil War would prevent the terror group from entering into a conflict with Israel, some now believe that Hezbollah has gained valuable combat experience in preparation for another round of fighting with Israel. Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy recently commented, “Hezbollah is learning to use more sophisticated equipment, and it is getting more battlefield experience for its fighters.”

Last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that the group is ready to strike anywhere in Israel and that “If Lebanon is attacked we would respond without setting any limits or red lines.” Last week, the IDF’s deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan said that Hezbollah’s improving capabilities means that in a future conflict “we’re not going to see small war in Lebanon. It’s going to be decisive. It’s going to be full-scale war.”