The military and strategic expert, retired Major General Muhammad Al-Samadi, said that the current battle between Hezbollah and Israel may be long, considering the party’s current strategy wrong because the Israeli government only understands the language of force.
Al-Sammadi explained – during his analysis of the military scene in Lebanon – that Israel is exploiting the missile launches at it in order to send a message to its allies that it is a victim of the request for more political and military support.
Accordingly, the occupation army is escalating its attempt to exhaust Hezbollah’s “vulnerability capabilities” – according to Al-Sammadi – by targeting the party’s centers of gravity, infrastructure, launching pads, weapons depots, and logistical supply lines, especially in the Bekaa and the Syrian borders, in addition to systematic assassinations of the party’s military leaders.
There is still an Israeli security intelligence breach in the command, control and communications system of Hezbollah, which is trying to avoid a comprehensive war, according to the military expert, who said that the intensive Israeli air campaign may later pave the way for a ground operation deep into Lebanon.
According to the strategic expert, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to reduce Hezbollah’s combat capabilities in stages, adding, “This pace will allow the occupation army to increase killing and criminality and destroy infrastructure.”
On the other hand, Hezbollah is escalating in a deliberate and gradual manner using a low level of force, but Al-Sammadi sees this as a wrong strategy because the Israeli government only understands the language of force.
He added, “If the party uses its combat capabilities forcefully to target Israeli targets and centers of gravity, then the deterrence equation will be imposed, and Israel will be in a different position,” referring to the party’s precise arsenal, such as advanced cruise missiles, Kornet, Yakhont, and Almas.
Regarding the pace of the party’s current operations, Al-Sammadi said that he does not know who is behind the party’s decision, wondering “if it is taken according to the pace of operations from Tehran,” basing his talk on the Iranian role and what is happening behind the scenes.
The military expert believes that the entry of special forces from Hezbollah into the Upper Galilee will push the occupation to seriously rethink, describing what is happening as a systematic ethnic genocide and not a war where the occupation army kills but does not fight.
Last Friday, the occupation army announced the assassination of the head of the operations system in Hezbollah, Ibrahim Aqeel, and said that he was the actual leader of the Radwan force in the party, along with senior leaders in the leadership of the operations system and the Radwan force.
He pointed out that “Aqeel and the leaders who were liquidated were among the planners of Hezbollah’s plan to storm the Galilee, which aimed to storm the towns of the Galilee in a manner similar to what was carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, 2023.”