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How Israel’s bold strikes are crushing Hezbollah and redefining security

Posted on by L. Dreeye
How Israel’s bold strikes are crushing Hezbollah and redefining security

Without great courage, the IDF would not have been able to carry out operation after operation since August to bring Hezbollah to its knees, said IDF Colonel (ret.) and Northern Command Operations Chief Anan Abbas Jerusalem Post in one personal interview and one very recent follow-up study.

One of the two interactions focused on the IDF’s stunning victory over Hezbollah in a massive operation on August 25, while the second looked back at the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the massive IDF air attack on September 23, the elimination of several levels of Hezbollah leadership, and the invasion September 30 to southern Lebanon.

Reflecting on all these recent incredibly successful operations, Abbas told the Post: “Courage is what it takes to stand your ground, achieve your goals and move forward. It takes a lot of courage to take serious action. Without this courage and determination we could not have done anything.

“We attack aggressively and drive the enemy to the point where he faints from fear and the feeling that we are being pursued. We are trying to create a new reality to achieve our mission goals,” he said.

Moreover, the chief of operations, who was at the center of many of Israel’s key attacks on Hezbollah in the crazy hours of the night but showed surprisingly little fatigue or weariness, said: “Thanks to the attacks and the actions of our forces, we are making great achievements and breaking the chain communications of Hezbollah, which negates some of its capabilities and leads to comparative advantages in battle.

IDF colonel. (retired) and Chief of Operations of the Northern Command Anan Abbas. He is well known as one of the most senior Druze-Israeli officers and also because his son, paratrooper Jamal Abbas, fell in battle against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Photo courtesy of IDF Spokesperson)

“We work at any time. There is always someone on duty at the operational headquarters,” he said.

Even before he became one of the heroes of the Northern Front, Abbas was well known as one of the most senior Druze-Israeli officers, and also because his paratrooper son Jamal Abbas fell in battle against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Analyzing the war against Hezbollah over the past year, Abbas noted: “They decided to join the war and are partners with the radical axis led by Iran. They are close to an organization that kills children, rapes women and commits acts as heinous or even worse than those during the Holocaust (Hamas, October 7, 2023).”

He further stated, “We are fighting them day in and day out. We have a range of possible answers and possibilities. We exposed Hezbollah (August 25) when it wanted to carry out a major attack on Israel, including against innocent civilians. Sometimes we refuse to strike Hezbollah fighters in order to be precise so that our attacks do not hit innocent people, while Hezbollah does the opposite.”

During the war, his operations headquarters directed the IDF to “destroy numerous Hezbollah forces and infrastructure that could be used to harm civilians.”

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“We pushed Radwan’s (elite) forces back from the border; we have reduced their capabilities. Our actions completely deprived them of the opportunity to approach the border,” he said.

Also: “We continue to strike high-ranking officials of the organization.”

Comparing how the IDF acted against various Hezbollah attacks and provocations throughout 2024, including instances where some criticized the military for being too restrained, Abbas replied: “We are not waiting for a specific incident, and we are always ready to attack with force.” . Air Force and other organizations.”

Moreover, over the past year, “we have sometimes attacked 100 kilometers deep (into Lebanon), 40 kilometers deep, or 50 kilometers deep. We analyze what is appropriate at this particular moment.

Attack where necessary

“We attack wherever we think we need to attack. We attack to eliminate Hezbollah’s threats against our military or our civilians. Our attacks are part of how to improve security to return (evacuated) northern residents to their homes,” he said.

In the run-up to major IDF operations on August 25 and September, Abbas stated: “From the company commander to the head of the Northern Command, we were and are ready when the big order comes from the high command.

“We will bring back the northern inhabitants either through a diplomatic deal or through an invasion – as the political echelon decides.”

Comparing the Second Lebanon War of 2006, when Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa and other more vulnerable places, with what a major war with Hezbollah would do to Israel in 2024, he essentially predicted ahead of the major September attacks: ” Air Force Capability to Answer Deeper Than 2006.”

Regarding the August 25 operation specifically, he said secrecy was at an unprecedented level: “most of the soldiers only found out about it the day before; and those who were previously aware of this secret were a very small group.”

Right before the operation: “We were in the Northern Command conference room. All the senior representatives of the various branches of the Northern Command were present there. The group became familiar with all the plans and order of their military operations.

“You have adrenaline and you are very prepared… You also prepare the home front,” he said.

His role was also to “consider all personnel and forces involved, the type of ammunition, the next attack and the need for evacuation” on both sides of the border.

Abbas noted that in a broader context, since July 30, when “Hezbollah learned (of the IDF killing of its military chief Fuad Shukr), they wanted to react… We were prepared for them to try to do this, but we needed the intelligence and carried out our action before they could open fire.

“We destroyed part of their arsenal and many targets in a preemptive strike that began early in the morning,” around 4:30 a.m. on August 25.

“There were over 100 aircraft and we attacked thousands of targets and missiles… Hezbollah did not understand and was shocked by the enormity of what we did.”

He said the first wave only took a few minutes and there were four in total.

He further added that they quickly realized that “the first wave was successful, that they had achieved their successes. But it is necessary and must be continuous.”

The vast majority of attacks that changed history lasted only 20 minutes.

In real time, he said, “the Firepower Center provided complete updates on the status, number of targets hit,” and there were also updates from the Air Force.

“In the operations room, you can see and understand everything… When Hezbollah attacks, we see what they are hitting. We knew where they were shooting from.”

Abbas went on to say: “We then conducted a broader review of the operation.

We saw that we had achieved something significant. We learned a lot of things right away, but some other things take hours before you get the full effect needed,” he said.

He hinted that even by September 17, when the pager explosions began and further unsettled Hezbollah, it still had not fully explained the IDF operation on August 25.

The whole world knows that Israel actually struck Hezbollah on August 25, then repeatedly from the air in September, and then in October on the ground in southern Lebanon.

But by August 25, Abbas and all senior IDF officers knew that if the operation went wrong, thousands of Israelis could be at risk. “This is a tough thing,” he said with a grim look.

“We needed to limit Hezbollah’s ability to attack northern villages. Without a pre-emptive strike, they could hit the North with thousands of missiles at once.”

After August 25, “Hezbollah realized that we can do this anywhere” in Lebanon, which is what the IDF actually did within a few weeks.

Causing further harm to Hezbollah

Of course, the major operation on August 25th was not the final highlight of the IDF’s defeat of Hezbollah, but rather a proof of concept of sorts that helped the government and high command greatly expand their ability to order more complete beheadings of Hezbollah in the past. two months.

“We continue this war against the evil axis of Iran and Hezbollah.” They want to destroy Israel and create a big Islamic state,” Abbas said.

Moreover, he continued: “When Nasrallah (after the August 25 operation) said that he had attacked IDF bases such as (intelligence headquarters) in Glilot, he (Nasrallah) knew it was a lie. He knew that his situation was catastrophic. It all comes back to his decision to join the axis of evil with all its negative consequences for the Lebanese economy and population.

“This criminal organization does not allow them (Lebanese) to live. Beirut was like Paris. Now they are the worst… There is no government, and no one rules or governs the country. There is no one else to blame except Hezbollah, he noted.

“The Lebanese should understand this, but they are not brave enough” to overthrow Hezbollah, he lamented.

OF COURSE, the mission is not yet over, and the IDF’s main concern going into the war was Hezbollah’s missiles, but the terrorist group’s greatest success in killing Israelis has been achieved through the use of drones.

Speaking about the threat of drones, Abbas said: “We deal with them every day. They did not cause us widespread harm. They have malicious capabilities, but they are limited in scope.

“We need to continually work to develop responses, learn lessons and reduce the number of drones that kill people,” he said, adding: “We need to find an advantage.”

He endorsed the use of countermeasure drones, the old-school Vulcan anti-aircraft system (saying more such batteries need to be deployed), GPS jamming and other solutions, but also did not imply that a full response would be achieved anytime soon.

“They have the technology in the Air Force… They’re working on it and they’re starting to get better at it, but it can’t be solved in days, but rather in months,” he predicted.

Moreover, Abbas stated: “We need to use technology correctly. It’s not like the First Lebanon War where everyone just shoots everywhere (like using the Vulcan system). We need the right solution in both technology and human resources, including engineers, and that can be anything that will help in defense. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it works.

“Ukraine used a lot of drones, and we also learned from this. We will apply some of these lessons here,” he emphasized. Addressing the people of northern Israel directly, he said: “We must give you credit for remaining faithful.

Ahead of October 7, 2024, he said this year should be a better and unifying year for the nation.

“We will always win because we are a strong nation. In our darkest hour we will prevail.”