Military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Al-Falahi, ruled out that Israel would risk entering into a comprehensive ground war with Lebanon, because its army was exhausted and suffered heavy losses in the Gaza Strip, suggesting that the Lebanese Hezbollah would take its time in responding to Israel.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed that the Israeli army decided to transfer the 98th Division to the northern border in preparation for the possibility of the war with Hezbollah expanding. It said that this division is one of the most prominent elite divisions in the army and is participating in the Gaza war.
The Israeli decision comes after the explosion of the wireless communication devices (pagers) used by Hezbollah members, which led to the death of 12 people, including two children, and the injury of between 2,750 and 2,800, most of whom were Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon and the southern suburb of Beirut, according to what Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad revealed today, Wednesday.
Colonel Al-Falahi said – in an analysis of the military scene in the region – that Israel has two divisions in the north, namely the “91st” division that holds the border with Lebanon and the “210th” division that holds the border with Syria. These are divisions that hold the ground, and they cannot be a combat force that can be relied upon in fighting and managing offensive or defensive battles.
He pointed out that there are some Israeli divisions, including the “36th” division, which were used in the Gaza Strip and were consumed very heavily, and suffered losses.
He added that the occupation army now has approximately 3 to 4 combat divisions with which it can enter the war with Lebanon, but it will not be a comprehensive war, but rather limited to specific geographical locations, pointing out that the occupation army does not have the capabilities and abilities to wage a ground war with Lebanon.
On the other hand, Colonel Al-Falahi explained that Hezbollah is currently assessing the damage caused by the bombing of its communications devices, and rebuilding its strength once again, which means that the party will not, at the present time, respond to Israel, which it accuses of being behind the “pager” bombings.
Regarding the timing of the operation that targeted Hezbollah, the military and strategic expert said that there are many hypotheses in this regard, the most prominent of which is what was revealed by leaks that Israel considered that there was a high probability that its plan would be exposed.
The American Al-Monitor website revealed, quoting high-level regional intelligence sources, that Israel carried out its attack with pagers in Lebanon after collecting intelligence information indicating that two Hezbollah members discovered the devices had been hacked.