The senior Hezbollah leaders killed in Friday’s Israel Protection Forces airstrike have been assembly to plan an Oct.7-style invasion in northern Israel, officers mentioned.
Members of the Iran-backed terror group’s elite Radwan Power have been allegedly finding out “plans for a floor invasion on the coronary heart of the occupied territories” in northern Israel, a Hezbollah supply instructed the Al-Monitor Center East information outlet.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog reiterated the claims throughout a Sky Information broadcast Sunday morning as he condemned Iran and its terror proxies.
“All of those leaders got here collectively so as to launch the identical horrific, horrendous assault that we had on Oct.7 by Hamas, by burning Israelis, by butchering them, raping their ladies, abducting and taking hostage folks and little infants,” Herzog mentioned.
“That is precisely the identical plan they’ve been planning for years below the plans of the Empire of Evil of Iran,” he added.
The IDF mentioned it killed 16 senior commanders and Hezbollah operatives throughout an airstrike on Friday because the terrorists gathered inside a high-rise condominium constructing within the Dahiya space of southern Beirut.
IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari mentioned prime leaders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi have been amongst these killed within the blast as they have been allegedly scheming to invade Israel.
“Aqil and the Radwan Power commanders who we attacked are the commanders who drew up and led the Hezbollah terror group’s plan, to be carried out on the day the order was given, to assault into the northern territory of the State of Israel, what they referred to as ‘The plan to beat the Galilee,’” Hagari mentioned.
Aqil and Wahbi have been additionally allegedly a part of Hezbollah’s prime brass that allegedly oversaw the near-daily assaults on Israel since Oct. 8.
Following the airstrike, which Lebanese well being officers left a complete of 37 folks useless, Hezbollah fired greater than 100 rockets over the border early Sunday.
One of many missiles hit a residential constructing in Kiryat Bialik, wounding at the least three folks as 1000’s throughout northern Israel have been despatched scrambling for shelters.
In retaliation, Israel fired its personal rocket barrage that killed at the least three folks and left one other 4 wounded close to the border, in response to Lebanon’s well being ministry.
The battle between Israel and Hezbollah reached a boiling level after 1000’s of pagers, radios and different digital gadgets utilized by members of the fear group detonated final week in assaults that have been blamed on Israel.
Sources instructed Axios that the assaults have been an try to succeed in “de-escalation by means of escalation” — forcing Hezbollah leaders to again down by hitting their leaders and fighters with destabilizing assaults.
Whereas the US backs Israel’s proper to defend itself, White Home Nationwide Safety spokesman John Kirby instructed ABC’s “This Week” that it isn’t in Israel’s “greatest curiosity” to power a army escalation.
“The tensions are a lot greater now than they have been even just some days in the past,” Kirby mentioned. “We nonetheless imagine that there may be time and area for a diplomatic resolution right here and that’s what we’re engaged on.”
“We’ve been working because the starting of this battle, October eighth and on, to attempt to stop an escalation, to forestall a broadening of this battle there in and round Israel, but in addition within the area,” he added.