IDF: We're reaching new situation on border

VIDEO - A week has passed since Hizbullah killed eight soldiers and kidnapped two, an incident which marked the beginning of Operation Change of Direction, and IDF officials expressed their satisfaction with the results. "We are closer than ever to a new situation on the northern border," a senior military official told Ynet. "For 10 years Hizbullah has been building capabilities, and in a number of days a considerable part of them has been destroyed. Hizbullah leaders also know that what was won't be anymore." According to the army's estimations, the fighting will end within a week. The army officials were careful not to conclude the biggest military operation in the past few years, but said with satisfaction that "Hizbullah is shocked by the amount of information Israel had which led to a huge destruction of its capabilities." But in spite of the satisfaction, the massive rocket fire continued. About 750-800 rockets were fired by midnight Tuesday at Israeli communities, 100 of them on Tuesday evening. Even the smuggling of arms from Syria to Lebanon has not managed to rattle senior IDF figures. "It seems Hizbullah is in distress, if it is seeking aid," a senior officer at the General Staff told Ynet. "We should look at the whole picture. For six years we did not respond, we settled for limited operations in light of Hizbullah's provocations. We wanted calm for the residents of the north." "Suddenly we took off the gloves. We said, no more, and we are now creating a situation which can cause the diplomatic campaign to create a new situation, which is much better," the source said. "It's not right to look at how many rockets were fired today or yesterday, like it isn't right to look at how many sorties we carried out. What matters is the end, what these activities tell Hizbullah, and what they convey to the whole of the Middle East," the senior officer said. According to the same officer, "Hamas is looking northwards and unsatisfied. The leaders of the organization are not happy with the connection Nasrallah is making between (Hizbullah and Hamas') kidnappings. They understand Israel knows how to take the gloves off, and if it happened on the northern border against this large terror organization, it will happen in Gaza with greater vigor." Military operations are continuing in the background in Gaza, where over 100 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting started. 'We already succeeded' The IDF wants the diplomatic window to be open for another two weeks. The Air Force, which receives a series of targets every 48 hours, and finds others while fighting (when, for example, pilots track down rockets fired at Israel), wants to delay the end. Until now pilots have managed to destroy 15 rocket launchers and six trucks of arms traveling to Lebanon from Syria. During a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Brigadier General Amir Eshel said that all aircrafts were increasing the effort, studying the enemy, improving, and reaching the goals. "We can't thwart every launch and reach a level of zero, but we can reduce the level and precision (of rocket attacks)," he said. Time is needed for this to happen, and the IDF believes that pressure from the outside will grow, but that it will be able to continue to attack for another week. Various polls grant the IDF backing and breathing space. A poll held by the Home Front Command found that 90 percent of northern residents and residents of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area described their stamina as medium to high. "There's no doubt that we already succeeded. What we did so far will bring a new and better situation. If we have more time, it will be only be to our favor and no one will remember if we operated for a week, 10 days, or 15 days," the senior source said.

IDF: We're reaching new situation on border

(VIDEO) One week after Lebanon operation began, IDF top brass express satisfaction with results achieved so far. IAF strikes 1,000 targets, including rocket launchers, buildings used by Hizbullah, trucks delivering ammunition from Syria. However, 750-800 rockets land in northern Israel so far