Israel Warns of Harsh Strike against Hizbullah, Accuses it of Using Civilians as Human Shields
Israel warned of a new conflict with Hizbullah, vowing to strike the party's strongholds which could result in a large number of civilian casualties.
“The civilians are living in a military compound,” The New York Times quoted a senior Israeli military official as saying.
The official, who spoke at military headquarters in Tel Aviv on the condition of anonymity, stressed that the Jewish State “will hit Hizbullah hard, while making every effort to limit civilian casualties as much as we can.”
The official stressed that Israel doesn't “intend to stand by helplessly in the face of rocket attacks.”
The newspaper reported that Hizbullah is allegedly building up its firepower since 2006, revealing that maps and aerial photography obtained from Israeli military officials indicate that the party has moved most of its military infrastructure into the Shiite villages of southern Lebanon and around their perimeters.
Israeli officials continuously accused Hizbullah of using the civilians as a human shield.
“Israelis are blunt about the implications: They will not hesitate to strike at those targets, so southern Lebanon will most likely be the scene of widespread destruction,” the NY Times said.
The Lebanese civilians casualties “should not be considered Israel’s fault,” officials told the newspaper.
The Israeli military had recently identified about 400 military sites and facilities belonging to Hizbullah.
“We already made it clear in 2006 that people in the villages do not have immunity if we have intelligence that they intend to fire at Israel,” Amos Yadlin, who was Israel’s chief of military intelligence from 2006 to 2010 and is now the director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said.
The daily quoted an Israeli military expert as saying that the attack will be in three phases.
“First, it would strike without warning at targets that pose the greatest threat, then it would call for civilians to evacuate southern Lebanon to facilitate ground troops to move in.”
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned on Tuesday that his country will not engage in any militarily confrontation with any state in the region unless the red lines were crossed, in particular in the Golan Heights, which is partly occupied by Israel, or if certain arms were transferred to Lebanon.
Israel fought a devastating 33-day war against Hizbullah in 2006 that cost the lives of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
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