Maariv: Israel Faces Complex Battles in Lebanon and Paves the Way for a New Phase in Iran

Translation by SadaNews - Senior officers in the Israeli army confirmed on Friday that they are facing fierce battles against Hezbollah elements in southern Lebanon.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, Hezbollah is going through a critical phase, and therefore it launched a missile in the past twenty-four hours, most of which are anti-tank missiles aimed at Israeli army forces in southern Lebanon.

A senior officer stated, as translated by SadaNews, "Hezbollah is under severe pressure, which is why it has intensified its missile launches in recent hours .. It sees ground progress and is extremely afraid of being left alone in the battle, which is why it is doing things we've never seen before, even in its behavioral style, but we will continue to apply pressure on it."

He noted that there are strict instructions to defend the first line of the northern settlements to prevent any attack aimed at kidnapping Israelis, and to deepen defenses on the second line to prevent the launch of anti-tank missiles, with the third objective being to reach the Litani River, given that more than 70% of the population in the southern villages has been displaced.

He emphasized that the goal is to disarm Hezbollah, isolate southern Lebanon, and completely cleanse it, while continuing to strike at the southern suburb which has become a ghost area.

According to the Israeli army, Hezbollah has suffered more than 750 casualties since the start of the war. An officer in Engineering Unit 603 acknowledged, "In every house we enter, we find weapons, explosives, and tunnels. They are firing heavily at us, and we expect the operation to continue for several more weeks."

The officer added, "There are daily direct clashes occurring, and Hezbollah is forming defensive and offensive formations to maneuver and attack our forces .. The terrain is complex, and our enemy is smart and operates in a slightly different way than in the previous battle, using many drones and firing with a sharp trajectory, showing that Hezbollah has studied our combat methods and is looking for our weaknesses."

He indicated that the anti-tank rocket launch groups represent the biggest challenge for the Israeli army, noting that his forces were surprised by the size of the tunnels and heavy weapons that were relocated to southern Lebanon again.

He mentioned that his forces are carrying out major demolition operations on homes in the second and third line of the southern villages, and there is no specific timeline for the operations.

Regarding the Iranian arena, Maariv states, as translated by SadaNews, that the Israeli army is paving the way for a new phase of the war aimed at weakening the capabilities of the Iranian regime, while the air force continues to inflict damage on Iranian defense industries and its ability to rebuild itself.

The newspaper highlighted statements by Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir regarding the severe and significant shortage in his forces and his call for the recruitment of all sectors of Israelis, pointing out the importance for the political level to take this into account to maintain Israel's ability to conduct new wars in the region.

On the political level, the newspaper quotes Israeli sources saying that there are already active and intensive negotiations taking place through several secret channels and with the mediation of different parties, and that the situation is much more complex than public statements reflect, showing a change in Iranian behavior on the regional stage with a significant decrease in its attacks against Gulf countries and sporadic operations being conducted.

According to those sources, this is not coincidental, but a result of talks regarding de-escalation, as the Iranians believe that their attacks on Gulf countries have achieved their objectives and caused panic, increasing pressure on Washington to seek an end to the war, and raised oil prices, while their continuation could affect diplomatic channels.

Israel sees that Trump's optimistic statements and Iran's pessimistic ones are a deliberate psychological warfare aimed at manipulating energy market prices.

Estimates in Israel indicate that Trump genuinely wishes to end the war, aiming to do so within two or three weeks, amidst expectations that Trump will ultimately seek to make a decision based on his own considerations rather than Israel's interests.

It stressed that Israel has not yet been asked to ease the intensity of its attacks in Iran.