Senior Israeli Security Official Confirms Strikes on Multiple Fronts
“If we hadn’t taken those actions, we could have ended up fighting a war we don’t need,” the official said, adding that dismantling Hezbollah’s precision missile program is a strategic priority
IsraelDefense
| 02/09/2019
Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells that landed in the southern Lebanese border village of Maroun Al-Ras, Sept. 1, 2019 (Photo: AP)
A senior Israeli defense official confirmed Monday that the IDF has carried out attacks against targets beyond Syria.
“In the past few days, we were surrounded on multiple fronts. We needed to take action on a few different fronts within a 24-hour period. We operated with precision, just like we planned to. If we hadn’t taken those actions, we could have ended up fighting a war we don’t need,” the official said.
The official explained that Israel’s security and defense priorities, as laid out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons; preventing Hezbollah from obtaining precision missiles; and preventing Iran from further entrenching itself in the region.
“We are making diplomatic and operational efforts in a number of fields and areas to prevent these three things. Each one has a detailed action plan. We are carrying out a lot of actions. You only see the very tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of covert actions by the IDF and the Mossad, as well as diplomatic measures being taken to address these three goals,” the official added.
Addressing recent developments on the northern border, the official said that Israel was handling developments there “with caution, even in the past few days.”
“We are working with determination combined with responsibility. We don’t act on a whim – it’s part of a complete strategy,” he said.
“Nasrallah Asked for a Ceasefire”
The official added that Sunday's border skirmish ended quickly because Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asked Israel not to escalate the fighting, after his men launched missiles at an Israeli border post and the IDF responded with some 100 artillery shells fired at Lebanese targets.
Nasrallah sent a message through interlocutors, including Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and officials from France, Egypt and the US, that “from Hezbollah’s perspective the event has ended,” the high-level source said.
“We got the message from three countries that told us there’s no reason to respond,” the defense official reveals. “They turned to us. To us it was clear that from Nasrallah’s perspective he was interested in concluding the fighting, because he wanted to end it with his dignity intact. That doesn’t bother me, Nasrallah’s calculations, as long as our efforts to tackle the threats we face are advanced. The bottom line is that Hezbollah sent us word asking us to stop.”
[Sources: Israel Hayom, The Times of Israel]
“If we hadn’t taken those actions, we could have ended up fighting a war we don’t need,” the official said, adding that dismantling Hezbollah’s precision missile program is a strategic priority
Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells that landed in the southern Lebanese border village of Maroun Al-Ras, Sept. 1, 2019 (Photo: AP)
A senior Israeli defense official confirmed Monday that the IDF has carried out attacks against targets beyond Syria.
“In the past few days, we were surrounded on multiple fronts. We needed to take action on a few different fronts within a 24-hour period. We operated with precision, just like we planned to. If we hadn’t taken those actions, we could have ended up fighting a war we don’t need,” the official said.
The official explained that Israel’s security and defense priorities, as laid out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons; preventing Hezbollah from obtaining precision missiles; and preventing Iran from further entrenching itself in the region.
“We are making diplomatic and operational efforts in a number of fields and areas to prevent these three things. Each one has a detailed action plan. We are carrying out a lot of actions. You only see the very tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of covert actions by the IDF and the Mossad, as well as diplomatic measures being taken to address these three goals,” the official added.
Addressing recent developments on the northern border, the official said that Israel was handling developments there “with caution, even in the past few days.”
“We are working with determination combined with responsibility. We don’t act on a whim – it’s part of a complete strategy,” he said.
“Nasrallah Asked for a Ceasefire”
The official added that Sunday's border skirmish ended quickly because Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asked Israel not to escalate the fighting, after his men launched missiles at an Israeli border post and the IDF responded with some 100 artillery shells fired at Lebanese targets.
Nasrallah sent a message through interlocutors, including Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and officials from France, Egypt and the US, that “from Hezbollah’s perspective the event has ended,” the high-level source said.
“We got the message from three countries that told us there’s no reason to respond,” the defense official reveals. “They turned to us. To us it was clear that from Nasrallah’s perspective he was interested in concluding the fighting, because he wanted to end it with his dignity intact. That doesn’t bother me, Nasrallah’s calculations, as long as our efforts to tackle the threats we face are advanced. The bottom line is that Hezbollah sent us word asking us to stop.”
[Sources: Israel Hayom, The Times of Israel]
