A worst-case scenario for Israel is emerging: the dreaded multi-front war involving Hezbollah, which is a much more formidable and better equipped paramilitary force than Hamas.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus has confirmed Wednesday Israel fired rockets into southern Lebanon for at least a second straight day, striking Hezbollah positions after the Iran-backed group struck Israeli soldiers with anti-tank missiles fired from across the border.
Bloomberg has also confirmed in a note, "Israel said an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit one of its military posts near the border, news that saw investors seek haven assets like US Treasuries." This as an Israeli ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, which is sure to be a bloody campaign, appears imminent after PM Netanyahu told Biden in a Tuesday phone call, "We have to go in. We can’t negotiate now."
Netanyahu also previously vowed in public statements that "what we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."
Citing IDF spokesman Conricus further, Fox News underscores that Israeli is now "actively fighting a secondary front" in the north and is surging troops toward that end:
...the Israeli army shelled the Lebanese border town of Duhaira and the surrounding area where the missile attack came from. He also said Israel was actively fighting a secondary front along Israel’s northern border with Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to the counteroffensive the IDF is launching in the Gaza Strip.
"We have deployed tens of thousands of additional units along the northern border," Conricus said, including infantry, special forces, armored forces, artillery, air forces, and "additional assets including intelligence and logistics."
Cross-border shelling has occurred since Sunday, leading to multiple casualties among Hezbollah members and possibly other Islamic factions. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has also had a presence there and has taken casualties. The IDF said, "The message to Hezbollah is very clear: ‘If they try to attack, we are ready and we are vigilant on our border.’"
At least one "Israeli senior officer" has been killed at the northern border since the exchange of fire has increased. Another two Israeli troops have also been confirmed killed. Hezbollah has claimed to have wounded and killed a "large number" of Israeli troops.
Al Jazeera wrote Tuesday that "At least three Hezbollah members, an Israeli senior officer and two Palestinian fighters have been killed so far in the cross-border fighting."
And the IDF has confirmed: "In Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah have already fired anti-tank missiles and rockets at our positions and soldiers, fortunately without any significant casualties," Conricus said. "There has already been an attempt of Islamic jihad terrorists infiltrating into Israel. That attempt was successfully thwarted by the IDF, sadly at the cost of a senior [IDF] officer and two other soldiers."
Hezbollah has meanwhile issued a fresh statement saying it sees the United States as a direct accomplice in Israel's killing of Gazans, as the Israeli air war continues, with Palestinian deaths on Wednesday approaching 1,000 after four straight nights of unprecedented bombardment.
Dangerously, and amid fears of a broader regional conflagration, Syria launched missiles on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which didn't appear to do significant damage. However, Israel has reportedly released an emergency statement for settlements in the area: "Instructions have been given to residents of the Golan to stay near shelters." Israel says it is forming an emergency war-time government.
Iran's Supreme Leaders has issued fresh threats, even while asserting it didn't have a direct hand in the Saturday Hamas terror rampage into Southern Israel:
Syria Launches Missiles On Golan Heights As US Begins 'Surging' Defense Aid To Israel
Update(1612ET): The Syrian Army has fired missiles toward the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Tuesday evening (local), breaking reports indicate. The Israeli Defense Force have confirmed the attack:
A number of launches from Syria aimed for Israel were identified a short while ago. Part of the launches crossed into Israeli territory and presumably fell in open areas.
This raises the risk of a broader conflict which spirals, given the earlier exchange of fire in northern Lebanon between Israel and likely Hezbollah positions. Al Jazeera senior correspondent Zeina Khodr writes on the significance of the Golan mortar fire from Syria:
Rocket from Syria lands in Israel occupied Golan Heights- it was a matter of time before a message is sent to Israel from this front … "multi front assault possible".
This came within an hour of President Biden in a speech confirming that the US will begin 'surging' defense aid to Israel.
And the Pentagon too confirmed:
A senior defense official said the Pentagon was “surging support” to its closest Middle Eastern ally in response to what U.S. officials have said are the brutal new tactics that characterized the weekend assault by Hamas militants into southern Israel. With the combined death toll exceeding 1,500, Israel’s government on Monday ordered a full-scale siege of the Gaza Strip, setting the stage for what could be a prolonged and bloody offensive in the small, densely populated Palestinian enclave.
This has already begun, says Boeing:
Meanwhile, various countries have begun evacuation efforts of their citizens from Tel Aviv
Update(1310ET): The Israeli army has reportedly issued an order for citizens to evacuate the Metula settlement, which lies just along the northern border with Lebanon. This after a salvo of some 15 rockets was fired from southern Lebanon in a suspected Hezbollah operation. "In response to the launches identified from Lebanese territory toward Israeli territory, IDF soldiers are currently responding with artillery fire," regional sources report. The IDF said it intercepted several of them, while most landed in open fields. Things are steadily escalating there:
A senior Israeli officer was killed in a confrontation with militants on the frontier with Lebanon on Monday, Israel's military has confirmed.
The [Israeli] military said troops and aircraft killed two "terrorist infiltrators" who had crossed into Israeli territory. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed that they were its members.
Later, at least three militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement were killed as the military attacked sites in Lebanon in response to mortar fire.
Still, both Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have thus far narrowly avoided a spiral into all-out war at the Israel-Lebanon border. "What’s happening here seems to be a kind of contained tension. Lebanon is not yet a war zone. However, it’s an area of operation. But it seems it’s also a space for both sides to exchange messages," an Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Ali Hashem, has observed.
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