Report: Hizbullah Reinforcing Fixed Defense Positions as it Gears up for New War
Hizbullah is rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel and is reinforcing fixed defense positions north of the Litani river, the British Observer newspaper reported.
"Having lost many of its bunkers in the south, Hizbullah is preparing a new strategy to defend villages there," it said.
"Sure, we are rearming, we have even said that we have far more rockets and missiles than we did in 2006," a Hizbullah commander told the Observer.
"We had to blow up or leave some of our bunkers and fighting positions, but we still have plenty of capabilities in the south. We expect the Israelis to come soon, if not this winter, then they will wait until spring, when the ground isn”t too soft for their tanks," he added.
A military expert on Hizbullah at the Center for New American Security told the newspaper that the Shiite group no longer controls the border due to the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the area.
"They appear to be hardening the villages for this next round of fighting, while pushing their fixed positions north away from UNIFIL to protect the approaches to Beirut and the Bekaa Valley," said Andrew Exum.
"Israel and the United States have long assumed that any military action against Iran”s nuclear program would draw a muscular response from its close allies in Hizbullah," the Observer said.
It added that Israeli military and intelligence analysts believe that any move against Tehran would require a move first against Hizbullah”s capability to disrupt life in northern Israel with its rockets.
"Tel Aviv seems unlikely to commit the same mistakes it did in 2006, when the plan was for air strikes to disrupt and confuse Hizbullah”s military command, while minimizing the use of ground troops. Israeli military sources have said that they are preparing for a potential new conflict," the Observer reported.
"We knocked out three of their tanks on the first day, as they tried to enter," explained the Hizbullah commander at a turn-off by the village of al-Qantara. "But after they entered the wadi, we knew they were going for the river and had to be stopped. So we called out to all the special forces anti-tank teams in the area. And they all swarmed the wadi. Boys would set up and wait for the tanks, fire off their rounds and then pull back. Then they would pull back a kilometer or so down the wadi and wait for them again."
According to Israeli military reports, after the first and last tanks were hit by rocket fire or mines, killing the company commander, the 24 tanks were essentially trapped inside a valley, surrounded on all sides and pinned down by mortars, rockets and mines. Eleven tanks were destroyed and the rest partially damaged and Israel lost at least 12 soldiers.
"As unlikely as the Israelis might be to repeat these mistakes, they must figure out how to get their heavy armor past the Hizbullah teams that still lurk in the hills and valleys in the next round of fighting, if and when it comes," the Observer said.