All reserve soldiers back by Thursday
Last of reservists in southern Lebanon anticipated to withdraw completely before week's end; to be replaced by soldiers in compulsory service, who will stay until deployment of a multinational force. IDF Northern Command hopes to have all forces back in Israel by end of next week
Reserves soldiers coming home: The last of the Israel Defense Forces reserves forces are anticipated to withdraw from south Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday. They will be replaced by soldiers in compulsory service, both those who are already in Lebanon and those who are waiting on the Israeli border prior to deploying north.
Wednesday morning, forces from the paratroopers division deployed in the west, replacing forces from the Carmeli and Alexandroni reserves brigades who had served there during the conflict. The compulsory forces will be stationed in a strip of land 25 km long, extending 10 km north of the Lebanon-Israel border. Following the pull out of reserves soldiers, forces from the paratroopers, the Golani infantry brigade and the armored corps will remain.
Reserves soldiers leave Lebanon (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Office)
Paratrooper commanders stated that IDF forces would remain in the area until the deployment of a multinational force and, until that time, would be authorized to use any means at their disposal to ensure their self-defense. "There will be no situation in which we are threatened and do not respond," they emphasized.
Reserves forces are also dwindling in the eastern arena, with the exit of reservists from the paratroopers and the armored corps. They were replaced by compulsory soldiers from the Nahal infantry brigade and the armored corps.
How to deal with Hizbullah's weapons
Between Tuesday night and Wednesday, there were no exchanges of fire between IDF forces and Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. Since the ceasefire took effect, the IDF shot ten Hizbullah operatives who were threatening the forces. Additionally, soldiers uncovered and confiscated a number of weapons, including rockets and anti-tank missiles.
A senior officer explained IDF policy regarding trucks transporting weapons and munitions from Syria: "In theory, we are authorized to prevent this transport. When the multinational force will deploy, it will have the tools necessary to enforce this (prevention of smuggled weapons). As of now, if the ball falls in our court, we'll evaluate the specific situation and decide."
Reservists in Lebanon (Photo: Jonathan Gissin)
Upon the reservists' withdrawal, the IDF asked them to complete an evaluation about their most recent service and to enumerate the problems, both operational and logistic, with which they were forced to deal.
According to IDF's Northern Command, they hope to have all IDF soldiers back in Israel by the end of next week, after UNIFIL forces replace them. "We are prepared for this possibility and also for the possibility that forces will need to remain in Lebanon longer," said one military source. "Concurrently, we are writing orders and instructions regarding the day after withdrawal, touching on issues concerning opening fire and the IDF policy given the new situation."
In recent days, Northern Command also honored northern district police, for their efforts in dealing with the damaging rocket barrages in northern communities and surroundings areas. Hundreds of Israelis were injured and a large amount of property and natural resources were damaged as a result of the thousands of Hizbullah-launched rockets.
In addition to dealing with hit sites and casualties, northern district police continued to patrol the rocket-plagued region in order to prevent looting of the homes of northern residents, many of whom had sons fighting in Lebanon.
Hagai Einav contributed to the report
