Military expert: These are the reasons for the effectiveness of Hezbollah’s defense plan and the high losses of Israel news
Military expert Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi said that the entry of the Israeli army into southern Lebanon came in line with directions “prepared by Hezbollah in its defense plan for any ground battle,” enumerating the reasons for the high losses among the ranks of the Israeli forces.
Al-Falahi explained – in an interview with Al Jazeera – that the defense process is important in military science, “and means waiting for the enemy to find a better opportunity,” indicating that this process must take into account the nature of the changing reality, and respond to all possibilities, in whole or in part.
The military expert believes that the high losses of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon are due to several reasons, including the nature of the geography, which is different from the battles of the Gaza Strip, in addition to the deployment of military teams exhausted as a result of the fighting in the streets, homes, and neighborhoods of Gaza.
He adds that the combat capability of these Israeli military sectors “appears weak in an environment friendly to Hezbollah fighters that has known defensive arrangements for a long time.”
Five Israeli military divisions participate in the ground incursion operations in southern Lebanon: 210, 98, 91, 36, and 146. The division includes more than one military brigade, and according to military standards, it includes more than 10,000 soldiers.
According to Al-Falahi, the Israeli army’s losses in Lebanon were the result of direct clashes or attacks with artillery or mortar shells, as military teams clashed on the border strip with Hezbollah fighters, starting from Ras al-Naqoura to the Shebaa Farms.
In this context, the Israeli army revealed that 88 Israeli soldiers were injured in the battles in Lebanon during the past 48 hours, while Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy acknowledged that Israel had suffered “heavy and painful” losses.
The military expert believes that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statements about the destruction of most of Hezbollah’s combat capabilities in southern Lebanon “are greatly exaggerated.”
He added, “Whoever conducts a successful defensive battle can stop the military sectors that tried to advance,” and “he is able to stop the attack,” indicating that the Israeli army has a real problem, in light of the high rate of losses and the absence of results on the ground.
Al-Falahi touched on the escalation of the objectives set for the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon, starting with returning the settlers from the north, then controlling a 5-kilometre border strip, disarming Hezbollah, all the way to the Litani and Awali rivers, respectively.
He concluded that Gallant’s statements were directed at the political leadership, stating that the rate of losses had begun to rise and continuing the ground operation “would not be useful, and it would be better to search for diplomatic solutions similar to UN Resolution 1701.”
In August 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 calling for an end to the Second Lebanon War that broke out in July 2006, the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters beyond the Litani River, and allowing the deployment of Lebanese army forces in the south.