(Dan Tri) – Israel has sent tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the border with Lebanon amid the risk of the conflict spreading.
Israeli armored vehicles move on the road near Israel’s border with Lebanon on October 9 (Photo: Reuters).
`The situation (on the Lebanese border) is very unstable. We are very vigilant. We have added tens of thousands of soldiers along the border, including reserves as well as regular units, to prevent
`We strongly urge them (Hezbollah) to think twice before launching any such attack against Israel. So far, in the past few hours, the situation has remained calm. Let’s hope everything goes well.`
According to CNN, Lebanon and Israel are considered rival countries, but the ceasefire agreement between the two countries has largely remained in place since the 2006 conflict.
Several small-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon have reportedly erupted in recent years, leading to retaliatory strikes from Israel.
On October 9, the Israel Defense Forces said militants had crossed the border from Lebanon into Israeli territory, killing a number of `armed suspects` and the Israeli army was searching the area.
Hezbollah said on October 9 that three members of this group were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah Armed Forces is a Shi’a Muslim militia organization.
According to Reuters, Western political circles believe that Hezbollah is a force backed by Iran and that this group is the party that is in control of southern Lebanon.
Israel borders Lebanon to the north (Graphic: BBC).
Recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas, has raised concerns that the fighting between Israel and Hamas could become a broader regional conflict if a second front opens.
According to the Center for International Strategic Studies, a Washington-based think tank, Hezbollah is `the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor`, armed with a huge stockpile of rockets,
In particular, Hezbollah’s anti-ship missiles could cause a `headache` for the Pentagon when the US decides to dispatch the most advanced aircraft carrier battle group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, close to Israel.
Israeli officials announced that one of the goals of the current campaign is to level Hamas’s operating and hiding places in Gaza and respond to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
After four days of fighting, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed at least 900 people were killed and more than 2,600 injured in Israel.
The Israeli military said today that about 1,500 bodies of Hamas members have been found in Israel around the Gaza Strip.
