What do 130 days on high alert on Israel’s Northern border mean to us Israelis? From the civilian point of view – almost nothing; the roads are open, and we live in peace.
But from the military point of view, it appears there is tension – on July 22nd, there was a killing of a Hezbollah combatant in Damascus, that was attributed to Israel. Nasrallah, Leader of Hezbollah, swore revenge – an eye for an eye, or in our case, “a soldier for a soldier”. Over the past few months, Hezbollah attempted killing Israeli soldiers a few times from the Lebanese or the Syrian border – all of which failed.
The IDF took this threat very seriously and implemented a new security tactic and deployment method along the borderline to prevent Hezbollah from executing their plan. In the attached video, you can see the new tactic along the northern border – the use of tanks instead of just the Humvees; and patrols by special forces, or ambushes camouflaged at sensitive areas along the borderline. So instead of endangering the lives of the soldiers by using regular infantry units who used to patrol along the Northern border with Humvees, the IDF has now changed the way it secures the borderline.
In the video that was broadcasted on Israeli TV channel 13, you can see the Israeli tanks crossing the fence, but not the “blue line” – the border between Israel and Lebanon is north of the fence, where one can see the UN soldiers observing and making sure neither side violates the other’s sovereignty. As soon as the tanks arrive, LAF soldiers can be seen carrying RPGs pointed at the Israeli tanks and Hezbollah intelligence squad taking pictures of the incident. The situation is very tense – of course, even a small match can ignite a huge flame.
Hezbollah’s media portrayed the situation as if the RPGs feared the Israeli tanks. So, I think the question that now arises is whether this new IDF tactic has not only succeeded in preventing the loss of Israeli soldiers’ lives but also, contributed to the Israeli deterrent? Decision-makers in the IDF face these questions every day – how to create an effective deterrence to prevent escalation without risking any lives (by the way – not only Israeli lives…).
*Featured Image on top: screengrab:https://13news.co.il.
