GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 256

War In Lebanon Coming

Plans Are In Place

In a report from The Times Of Israel we learn that the IDF an offensive against Hezbollah is ready:

The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk approved Lebanon battle plans today, the military says.

In a statement, the IDF says the generals held an assessment, during which “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved.”

They also added that getting the forces ready is next:

The top commanders also made decisions regarding “accelerating the readiness of the forces on the ground,” the military adds.

People who lived in the northern Israel are demanding to be able to return and if diplomacy doesn’t work the IDF will have to handle things:

The announcement comes amid repeated attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian terror groups in Lebanon on northern Israel, with fears of a wider conflict.

Israel has warned it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border following the October 7 atrocities, and has warned that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.

In another article, this one from Israel National News Israeli Foreign Minister warns Hezbollah will be destroyed soon:

Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned that the Hezbollah terrorist organization would be destroyed in a war with Israel after a Hezbollah drone filmed sensitive sites in the Haifa area.

"Nasrallah boasts today about filming the ports of Haifa, operated by international companies from China and India, and threatens to attack them," Katz said.

It could happen quickly:

"We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit," he said,

Herzog knows Israel will be hit hard, but it would be worth it:

"The State of Israel will pay a price on the front and home fronts, but with a strong and united nation, and the full power of the IDF, we will restore security to the residents of the north," the Foreign Minister said.

Herzog spoke after Hezbollah released a video hinting that they know where important targets are:

Earlier, the Lebanese Al Mayadeen network published a nine-minute video today (Tuesday) taken by one of the Hezbollah terrorist organization's new 'Hoopoe' drones. The UAV penetrated deep into Israeli territory and filmed its flyover of the port of Haifa.

The UAV filmed multiple sensitive sites, including chemical storage sites, oil storage sites, and the entire port.

More and more, it looks like Israel will have to deal with both Hamas and Hezbollah soon.

US Wrong About Rafah

We all remember how strongly the United States told Israel to not go into Rafah because they didn’t have a plan. Now Israel is telling us that half of Hamas in Rafah is destroyed as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

The Israel Defense Forces is in control of 60 to 70 percent of Rafah, according to the military on Monday.

Military assessments estimate that two of Hamas's battalions in Rafah are on the brink of being completely subdued.

The IDF's 162nd Division has been in combat for 255 days, since the military entered the Gaza Strip, and 40 days in Rafah.

Over the past month, the forces gained operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt, and are fighting Hamas strongholds in the Shaboura and Tel Sultan neighborhoods.

They’ve taken over Rafah in steps:

In the first phase of Rafah operations, IDF forces launched an attack up to the Tancher route (Salah a-Din Street), captured the Rafah crossing, then moved to attack the Brazil neighborhood and established operational control.

They also confused Hamas:

The IDF led the enemy to believe that Israel would start in the south, when in fact it started in the northern part of Rafah.

The division secured full operational control between the Kerem Shalom crossing and the sea. In addition, 550 terrorists were identified and eliminated. The IDF says that more were likely killed, but troops were unable to identify and reach them physically.

Due to Hamas not knowing where the IDF would start, a lot of weapons were not used because the terrorists area couldn’t get to them:

Gazan terrorists loaded the Philadelphi Corridor with and hundreds of long-range rockets to Israel.

Thanks to the quick action by Israel, Hamas and other terrorist organizations were surprised. This allowed the Philadelphi Corridor, where the rockets were centered around, to be captured quickly by the 162nd Division without facing many mines. Thanks to the swift maneuver, the number of rockets fired toward Israel decreased significantly.

Then the IDF went underground:

The division exposed more than 200 tunnel shafts, 25 tunnels, and a long underground route towards Egypt. The Engineering Corps' elite Yahalom unit is investigating the tunnels that lead toward the border with Egypt. It is still being investigated if they cross into Egypt.

Still, it cost many lives to do it:

Since the beginning of the war, 3,800 soldiers have been wounded in the 162nd Division; 180 have been killed in action. In Rafah, 22 soldiers in the division died in combat.

The fighting was planned in stages that were continuously updated in situational assessments. Division commanders keep a dialogue with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Right now the US is complaining that Israel shouldn’t go to war against Hezbollah because they don’t have a plan and shouldn’t rush into it. This sounds exactly like the logic they used to tell Israel to not go into Rafah. In both cases, the IDF knew exactly what they had to do and did it. It’s time to call out the United States leadership for being wrong about Rafah and to let Israel protect itself without having to convince them they have a plan in place first. Part of having peace in Jerusalem is to not have other nations tell them how to run a war that can affect Israels very existence. I doubt they will listen to me, but God will.