The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that operational plans had been approved for an offensive in Lebanon where Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists have been launching escalating attacks on Israel that began after the Hamas assault from the Gaza Strip on October 7.
According to the IDF, the Northern Command's Commanding Officer MG Ori Gordin and Head of the Operations Directorate MG Oded Basiuk approved the operational plans after holding a "joint situational assessment" in the Northern Command on Tuesday.
"As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field," the IDF's statement added.
The approval of plans for a Lebanon offensive does not mean such an action has been ordered nor is it necessarily imminent, but it's the latest signal from Israel to Iran and its terrorist proxies — as well as the rest of the world — that it is ready and able to take action to end the attacks coming from across its northern border.
In the wake of the 10/7 Hamas attack, Israel evacuated residents in towns and kibbutzim across northern Israel to create a buffer between its citizens and Hezbollah terrorists.
Still, in a recent three-day period alone, Hezbollah said it had launched more than 40 attacks on Israel with its rockets, missiles, and kamikaze drones as part of its ratcheting-up of assaults.
Hezbollah is better positioned than Hamas is in Gaza, geographically, to receive ongoing deliveries of such weapons from its backers in Tehran. A land route from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon has become a busy corridor for terrorist weapons, including some with ranges that would allow attacks on Israel's most populous cities.
Without a full offensive, Israel has still been picking off Hezbollah terrorists inside Lebanon as the Iran-backed group significantly escalates the number of attacks on Israel. Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF took out one of the squads operating Hezbollah UAVs.