Prepared for any scenario. Soldiers in north
Photo: AFP
Tank along border
Photo: Reuters
Deceptive calm in north: 'Enemy can strike at any moment'
Army says Hezbollah's motivation to avenge Mugniyeh assassination calls for high level of preparedness at all times. 'We can't see the enemy; but it's there,' IDF official says
Four years after the end of the Second Lebanon War, the tense atmosphere among IDF forces positioned along Israel's northern border is evident.
Just last week the gates of two northern communities were sealed off and army forces were dispatched to the border fence after "Parash Turki" – code for a possible infiltration of terrorists - was declared. The warning proved to be false, but the incident was indicative of the growing tension behind the apparent calm in the region.
Senior IDF officers stationed in the North fear that Hezbollah's ever-increasing motivation to avenge the assassination of its senior commander, Imad Mugniyeh, will manifest itself in an attack on Jewish and Israeli institutions overseas. The army is not ruling out the possibility of an attack along the Lebanese border either.
The army has recently conducted a number of drills aimed at testing the forces' level of preparedness for a possible Hezbollah attack on Israeli targets - both military and civilian – with rockets, missiles or other weapons.
"Despite the fact that we cannot see the enemy in front of us, we are well aware that it exists and can act at any given moment," an army official said. "We are operating under the assumption that an incident can occur without us getting any warning from army intelligence. This is why we must maintain a high level or preparedness at all times."
UNIFIL's activity along the border helps keep Hezbollah gunmen away from the border fence, but the IDF's Northern Command says some residents of south Lebanon, including shepherds, are documenting the IDF's activity and relaying their findings to the Shiite group.
"Hezbollah has the ability to launch an attack along the border. Therefore, soldiers undergo diverse training so that they will be able to respond to any scenario," said the IDF official.
