Israeli Officials Confide Complexities Of Hezbollah Confrontation

Faced with an uptick in incidents on the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli security officials are anticipating a complex war scenario against Hezbollah, Israel Hayom daily reported on Monday.

The officials confided they were not ruling out the possibility that terror groups in Gaza and the West Bank could take part in a conflict with the enemy in the north, exposing Israel to multiple fronts, as well as internally if riots broke out in mixed communities, such as in 2021.

It was predicted Israel could see up 6,000 rockets launched at it during the first days of a conflict, gradually decreasing to between 1,500 and 2,000 rockets per day. Security experts estimated that the Iron Dome defense system would not be able to neutralize as high a percentage of aerial threats as in previous escalations with Gaza.

Depending on the anticipated scale of rocket fire, the current scenario has predicted a joint Hezbollah-led campaign which could result in the deaths of around 500 Israeli civilians and injure thousands more. But what worries defense officials most is the continuing improvement in the accuracy of the ballistic capabilities of Israel's enemies.

They pointed to the proven effectiveness of unmanned aircraft during the war in Ukraine, and don't rule out the possibility that Hezbollah, Iran or their allies could damage strategic installations in Israel, such as power plants. Such a scenario could cause a blackout lasting several hours, or even days, plunging the country into darkness for 24 to 72 hours. The main fear then lies in a targeted strike on power plants, which would seriously compromise Israel's ability to produce electricity. Officials acknowledge that the response to this challenge was still far from perfect. They have therefore announced the intention to reinforce the defense of these sites by adding an Iron Dome battery and other means.