Israel’s escalation in southern Lebanon on Thursday appeared aimed at establishing new rules of engagement with Hezbollah, under which it would launch airstrikes deeper into Lebanese territory if the group sought to prevent Israeli forces from advancing toward the strategic Ali al-Taher Heights.
This has unfolded alongside Iranian rules of engagement centered on threats of military intervention if Beirut or its southern suburbs are targeted.
A Lebanese woman was killed on Thursday in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Arabsalim. The Israeli military said the strike was in response to Hezbollah launching two drones toward its forces in Ali al-Taher.
The strikes on the town marked a notable escalation after nearly two weeks in which detonations and airstrikes had remained confined to towns inside the Yellow Line and its surroundings, extending into Lebanese territory.
Rules of engagement with Hezbollah
Security sources in southern Lebanon viewed the latest escalation as an Israeli attempt to establish rules of engagement with Hezbollah by expanding the scope of strikes deeper into the south whenever Hezbollah fighters confront Israeli military attempts to seize the strategic heights.
The escalation has recurred whenever the Israeli military announces that its forces in the area have come under attack, the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
That was the case in mid-August, when the Israeli air force carried out deadly strikes on the towns of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani in response to what it said was the wounding of three of its soldiers in Ali al-Taher.
Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any military operation against Israeli forces in the area, in line with a decision to maintain secrecy, according to sources familiar with the group’s political and media operations.
Israeli statements, however, point to Hezbollah military activity in the strategic heights whenever Israeli military vehicles attempt to advance there. Israeli media have reported that five explosive-laden drones have targeted Israeli troops in the area since the beginning of August.
Gradual encroachment
Israel insists on seizing the strategic heights east of the city of Nabatieh. Its efforts, however, have met with Hezbollah’s refusal to evacuate the area and hand over its facilities to the Lebanese army, in addition to Iranian threats to intervene militarily if Israel launches a large-scale operation.
Lebanese sources said the United States had curbed Israel’s push to seize the area through a major military operation, prompting Tel Aviv to pursue control through gradual encroachment.
Over the past two weeks, the Israeli military has stepped up operations aimed at “isolating” the Ali al-Taher Heights from their surroundings. It has repeatedly struck buildings within a three-kilometer radius, carrying out airstrikes on Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Dawhat Kfar Rumman and neighboring areas. The attacks destroyed dozens of homes, villas and other buildings in the area.
Detonations and incursions
The military activity has coincided with detonations and incursions deeper into Lebanese territory. The Israeli military carried out demolition operations in the towns of Haddatha, Talloussa and Mansouri, while Israeli forces advanced from Haddatha into Aita al-Jabal and set fire to areas on the town’s outskirts.
Israeli artillery also shelled Houla and Wadi al-Slouqi alongside machine-gun fire.
Lebanese officials have condemned the continued Israeli strikes on the south despite the two countries signing a US-sponsored framework agreement in June and engaging in direct negotiations. Hezbollah categorically rejects the talks and has also refused to surrender its weapons.
The Israeli military said on Friday that troops from the Golani Brigade combat team “continue to operate in the security zone in southern Lebanon to eliminate threats.”
“Over recent weeks, the troops have destroyed more than 400 terrorist infrastructure sites and located numerous weapons, including anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, explosive devices, firearms and mortar shells,” it said in a statement.
Iranian rules of engagement
Since the ceasefire, Israeli military operations have been confined to southern Lebanon, while Iranian officials have threatened intervention if Beirut or its southern suburbs are targeted.
The latest remarks came from Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a television interview broadcast on Thursday night by Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television.
Rezaei said Israel was “no longer capable of attacking Beirut’s southern suburbs or Beirut,” attributing this to “the losses Hezbollah inflicted on Israel over the past three or four months” and to Iran’s threat, which he said had been fully effective.
He said Beirut and its southern suburbs constituted a “red line for Iran,” adding that Tehran was “monitoring developments with the utmost seriousness” and that “Israel will find itself compelled to withdraw from the Lebanese territory it entered.”
Rezaei said Iran “does not interfere in the details of Hezbollah’s military structure or its field decisions,” adding that the group “now has military personnel capable of managing its affairs and making its own decisions, particularly with the rise of two new generations of young commanders.”
