Israel Increases Forces and Intelligence Activity on Northern Border with Lebanon

After the "most volatile day" in recent months due to Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel and the Israeli army's response, Israeli media reported that the army has sent more troops and equipment to the northern border and increased intelligence activities in this area bordering southern Lebanon. According to Channel 12 of the Israeli army's television and radio, Hezbollah fired 180 rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, August 31, marking the "most volatile day" in the past ten and a half months of conflict. The attacks by Hezbollah on Wednesday directly hit several homes in the city of Katzrin, causing property damage but no casualties. The army stated that the remaining rockets also did not cause casualties, but resulted in fires in several northern areas. According to Channel 12, Hezbollah has increased its attacks against Israel following this week's Israeli army strikes on locations deep in Lebanon, including targeting Hezbollah's weapon and rocket depots in Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley. On August 31, Israel also took responsibility for killing Khalil Muqdad, a field commander of the military branch of Fatah in Lebanon, whose brother, Munir Muqdad, is also a leader of this group. Khalil Muqdad was killed in a drone strike in Sidon. Israel announced that Khalil Muqdad collaborated with the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was responsible for transferring weapons from Lebanon to the West Bank. According to Nir Dvori, a military reporter for Channel 12, the army has decided to increase the quality and scope of its attacks against Hezbollah, redirecting military resources and equipment, as well as its intelligence and surveillance capabilities from the south (Gaza) to the north, regardless of the outcome of the Gaza war negotiations, to engage in military operations to determine the situation in northern Israel. Hezbollah stated that the multiple operations of the group throughout this week have not yet resulted in the significant response promised by the group's secretary-general following the killing of Foad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander. Israel took responsibility for the assassination of Shukr on July 30. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told Arab media on Wednesday that the army will now target any location in Lebanon where accurate intelligence indicates the presence of Hezbollah's weapon depots. Yoav Gallant, Israel's Defense Minister, stated this week during a visit to the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, "Our focus is now on the north." The Israeli army continued its attacks on southern Lebanon on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, September 1. Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for attacks on Israel in several statements on September 1. The Israeli Prime Minister will meet with the mayors of Katzrin and other northern settlements on Thursday. Many of these mayors are calling for intensified military operations against Hezbollah to create a prospect for the return of over 100,000 Israelis who have left their homes in northern Israel for the past ten and a half months. Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday during a visit to the Israeli airbase "Ramat David" in northern Israel that, regarding the common threats posed by Iran and Hezbollah to his country, "Our air force is a steel fist to strike at... enemies, and if we must, we will prove this capability time and time again." Simultaneously, Israel Katz, Israel's Foreign Minister, wrote in an article in the British newspaper The Telegraph that the past ten months (the period of the war between Israel and the extremist group Hamas) has openly exposed Iran's "diabolical strategy," and that from "Gaza to Lebanon and throughout the Middle East, we are witnessing Iran's coordinated attack against regional stability." He added, "This is not a coincidence; it is Iran's way of working... ruthlessly destabilizing countries and territories and arming extremist groups to serve its revolution." According to Katz, the world must recognize that Iran's efforts to create a "ring of fire" throughout the Middle East may be a precursor to broader conflicts. Hezbollah, which, like the extremist group Hamas, is on the U.S. and some other Western allies' terrorist list, has suffered over 420 casualties in the past ten and a half months and has stated that the end of the Gaza war will mark the end of its operations against Israel. The U.S. hopes that by reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war, the military crisis along the Lebanon-Israel border will subside. However, Israel has serious doubts about Hezbollah's forces retreating beyond the Litani River, 40 kilometers from the Lebanon-Israel border. Security Council Resolution 1701, passed 18 years ago, stipulated that southern Lebanon must be free of weapons and militias below the Litani River.