“Israel’s push into Lebanon looms closer than ever before. A date is set,” a diplomatic source said.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel is gearing up to launch a full-scale war against the Hezbollah terror group, including a ground invasion of Lebanon, in late July, according to a new report from a German newspaper.
“Israel’s push into Lebanon looms closer than ever before. A date is set,” a diplomatic source told the tabloid Bild. While the exact date of the offensive was not stated, the source said it could happen as early as the third or fourth week of July.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address Congress in Washington D.C. on July 24th. It’s unclear if the operation would begin before or after that date.
Pressure has been mounting on the Israeli government to take forceful military action against Hezbollah, as tens of thousands of Israelis remain displaced from their homes nearly nine months after Hezbollah began launching missiles, rockets, and drones at communities along the Lebanese border.
Numerous countries, including Canada, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, and Holland, have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon while they still can, due to fears of an all-out war erupting in the region.
The Biden administration has been attempting to broker a ceasefire agreement which would see Hezbollah withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, but the terror group has pledged to continue firing at Israel as long as IDF troops are fighting in Gaza.
With an Israel-Hamas ceasefire elusive, it’s unlikely that Hezbollah will agree to a diplomatic solution as fighting is expected to be ongoing for the forseeable future in the coastal enclave.
But even if the war against Hezbollah were to conclude quickly, with a decisive Israeli victory, residents of the north likely will not be able to return to their homes for some time.
Many of the cities, towns, and communities along the Lebanese border have suffered heavy damage throughout months of bombardment, with extensive rebuilding necessary before residents can return.
“In most of our evacuated kibbutzim, it is impossible to reach and assess the damage to infrastructure, buildings, and residential homes,” Giora Zaltz, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, told Ynet.
“We are not doing any repairs right now, because even contractors refused to come in to fix or build,” he added.
“We cannot even estimate when we will be able to start dealing with the damage and begin to rebuild.”
The post Israel to launch full-scale war, invade Lebanon in late July: Report appeared first on World Israel News.