IDF preparing for ground operation in Tyre area
In spite of blows suffered by army in north, it does not plan to stop in Bint Jbeil; plans already prepared for Tyre area, where 'medium rocket unit' operates against Haifa
An officer and a soldier were killed after two tanks were severely hit in the area, but the Israel Defense Forces does not plan to stop and is already preparing plans for a ground operation in the Tyre area as well.
"It may require a different deployment of forces, but we are definitely prepared for that," a senior IDF officer told Ynet.
In spite of the grave incidents near Hizbulla's "terror capital," the village of Bint Jbeil, in which a company commander and a armor battalion soldier were killed and several soldier were wounded, Northern Command Officials expressed their satisfaction over the first day of fighting in the area.
"We can definitely report of broad hits, several encounters that led to Hizbullah casualties. There are enough targets there which we still want to hit, and the fighting will continue. We hit infrastructures in the area, but there is still work to be done," a military source said.
'Some terrorists may understand situation'
The IDF is besieging the village, and purposely left an opening that will provide an exit for the hundreds of civilians still left in the village, but also for terrorists.
"There may be those who will understand the situation, change their uniform into civilian clothes, and leave," the military source said.
Simultaneously, the IDF is operating in several other targets in southern Lebanon, where there are reports of quite a few casualties among Hizbullah members and more findings are uncovered, which thicken the army's intelligence aspect on Hizbullah's methods of action.
Meanwhile, the IDF is already thinking about the next step, out of the assumption that the political echelon will not issue an order to halt the fire, especially not when the United States stands by Israel.
The IDF has a long-term plan for operations in Lebanon. One of them also focuses on the Tyre area, particularly against rocket launching sites directed at Haifa and the surrounding areas. Hizbullah members operating in the area are nicknamed by the IDF "the medium rocket unit."
"There are in this area additional Hizbullah infrastructures, such as economic institutions, which we can also hit," a senior officer said. "There are enough ways to do so through the ground without occupying the city or entering every corner in it."
