The Israeli army declared itself ready for “months” of fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, according to a security source.
“We have been prepared for months and they will remain as long as necessary to guarantee our security,” said the source, who declined to be identified, referring to ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, as well as a possible answer from Israel in the October 1 Iranian attack.
The country is not waging “a war against Gaza, nor another war against Lebanon”, but “a war against Iran, in some cases directly, in some cases indirectly, through Iran’s allies”, he highlighted.
Israel managed to “neutralize the entire chain of command” of the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollahits ally – both have the support of Tehran, as well as dismantling “a large part of its military capabilities”, the source said, referring to recent military operations.
The goal is to weaken Hamas and Hezbollah
The military’s objective is to weaken these “terrorist organizations as much as possible”, explained the security source.
“In the Gaza Strip it is more than a suppression of the rebellion”, explained the source, who estimates that the Palestinian Islamic organization has “around 1,000” fighters and “around 100 at most” long-range missiles that could reach Tel- Aviv.
AFP cannot confirm these numbers.
In the long term, Israel hopes, according to this security source, to move from dynamics that center on “organizations to (dynamics that center on) states” and wants to install stable powers, especially in Lebanon.
The parameters of UN resolution 1701, which mainly concern the non-proliferation of weapons in the border area and the definition of a border acceptable to both countries, serve Israel according to the security source, but only Israel will be “able to respect” these rules and therefore your army must remain there.
The situation will be more complicated in Gaza, therefore, according to him. “The army will remain as long as necessary” and “only when we guarantee security will it be time to think about the next step”.
Sources: AMPE, AFP