Against the backdrop of ceasefire talks being held at the highest political levels, troops from the Givati Brigade uncovered an unusually large weapons complex Monday in southern Lebanon.
“It looks like a brigade base,” a senior security official said. “This is where the terrorists were supposed to come, arm themselves and head out to attack.”
Footage: Weapons depot in the Beaufort area
(Video: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
The questions being raised publicly about the IDF’s scope of operation in southern Lebanon have not reached the Israeli forces operating beyond the Litani River. For them, they say, operations are continuing as usual. In the Badr area near Nabatieh, north of the Litani, the only sounds are the echoes of explosions and artillery fire from the 36th Division. Troops on the ground continue intensive operations, clearing the dense terrain, engaging in close-quarters combat and killing dozens of terrorists each day.
During targeted searches by Givati Brigade forces in a village in the area, troops uncovered a massive weapons depot, a kind of Hezbollah battalion- or brigade-level emergency arms warehouse. The depot contained dozens of advanced surface-to-air missiles intended for use against helicopters, huge quantities of rockets, anti-tank launchers, RPG missiles, mortars and deadly Claymore-type charges.
“Over the past several years, Hezbollah has built a very significant system of weapons depots and operational apartments widely dispersed across the area,” a senior security official said in a special conversation from the field. “There is no village in the ‘yellow line’ area where we did not find ammunition bunkers. Insane quantities. Military bunkers inside mosques, private homes, hospitals and schools. This is exactly the same terror model we came to know in Gaza, only here in the north.”
According to the senior official, the specific depot found on the ridge served as a critical supply artery for the terrorist organization.
“It was a central depot, a brigade bunker where operatives were supposed to come, collect various weapons and go out to fight,” he said. “We denied them a significant capability.”
Despite reports of diplomatic contacts, commanders in the field made clear that, as far as they are concerned, the mission is far from over.
“As far as we are concerned, there is no difference,” the senior official said. “We are continuing with full force. There is an air force, there is artillery, and it makes no difference to us. Hezbollah understands it can no longer stop us. If in the past the Litani River was perceived by them as a wall and an impassable obstacle, today we are deep beyond it. That is why they are begging to close this and reach an agreement. They are taking severe blows, and we must not stop now. It would be a shame to stop at this point.”
The forces are now positioned at critical key points north of the Litani and in Nabatieh, areas described as Hezbollah’s “centers of gravity.”
“We will need patience,” military officials said. “This is a long war against an enemy that built itself up over years.”
Regarding the IDF presence on the ridge, the senior official said everything depends on how effective the stay there proves to be.
“We are not there just to sit, but to achieve results,” he said. “There are still many long weeks of work here.”
The fighting beyond the Litani poses complex challenges for troops, different from those they encountered in Bint Jbeil or along the first line of villages. While the threat of anti-tank missiles and artillery has relatively decreased, the enemy is trying to slow the pace of the forces’ advance using explosive drones.
“They launch many dozens of them every week,” the senior official said.
During the operation, Givati troops managed to seize laboratories for producing drones.
“This is very widespread,” the official said. “It is not something that requires complex engineering knowledge. Even an ordinary civilian can produce it at home. Even if we capture 100 laboratories, they will be able to produce more, perhaps at a lower quality. But we are moving in the right direction. We are learning, improving against this threat, and the actions we are taking are more effective. Bottom line, fewer soldiers have been wounded in recent days.”
The IDF says the infrastructure being seized and the terrorists being killed are completely changing the face of the area. Even if Hezbollah tries to move its forces elsewhere, the blow is severe.
“This is no longer the same organization,” the senior official said. “In the past, they spoke about entire battalions that would infiltrate the Galilee. Today, they do not have the capabilities we saw in their propaganda videos with the motorcycles. It is still a dangerous terrorist organization, but we are dismantling it, meter by meter.”