Why Israel is expanding its operation against Hezbollah

As Israelis marked a sombre day commemorating the 7 October massacre, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) expanded their operation in Lebanon. Their aim is to weaken the Iranian-backed terror organisation Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel from Lebanon for the past year.

While the Israeli air force bombs specific targets deep inside Lebanon, including the Hezbollah-controlled neighbourhood Dahieh in Beirut, ground forces have been engaging terrorists close to the border. Yesterday, additional forces joined the fighting, concentrating on the south-western region, where there is still a considerable number of terrorists. It is estimated that there are now over 15,000 Israeli troops in Lebanon. As part of the operation, the IDF has uncovered large weapons caches, tunnels used for smuggling and attacks, and other hiding places used to attack Israel.

For now, this does not represent a deviation from Israel’s original goal of clearing the area close to the border from terrorists – who pose a severe and immediate threat to Israeli civilians.