The Israeli Armed Forces says it has started a limited ground operation in Lebanon.
Pyry Dementjeff,
Rasmus Montonen
The Israeli Armed Forces says it has started a limited ground operation against the targets of the Iranian-backed extremist organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Director of the Finnish Middle East Institute Susanne Dahlgren says that Beirut, Lebanon was woken up last night by loud bombings.
Dahlgren commented on the situation from Beirut to early Tuesday morning. According to him, the morning has been calmer than the night, but people in Beirut are scared.
– The feeling among all the people is that this country is slipping into a really bad situation. It’s not like Israel claims that this is targeting Hezbollah, but the whole country is suffering.
At the time of the interview, Dahlgren is at the airport, on his way to a conference in Italy. According to Dahlgren, the airport is full. Only the country’s own airline flies, and people have had to rebook flights. In addition, Dahlgren says that the airline organizes additional flights to key destinations such as Paris, London and Rome.
According to Dahlgren, everyone who can is fleeing the country.
– Many can’t because they are so poor. They are in the city center in the parks, along the promenades and in the courtyards of churches and mosques.
The Finnish Middle East Institute is currently working remotely. Dahlgren says his goal is to return to Lebanon in the middle of the month.
Researcher: Operations have a bad habit of expanding
Israel’s ground attack on Lebanon was expected, says a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Toni Alaranta.
Alaranta commented on the situation on ‘s morning broadcast on Tuesday. According to the Israeli army and the country’s authorities, the operation is limited and local. According to Alaranta, this means destroying the warehouses and troops of the Hezbollah group on the surface of the border between the countries.
– The Israeli authorities themselves talk about the fact that this will enable the return of Israelis to the villages of the border region.
Israel has not said how long the operation will last. According to Alaranta, it remains to be seen whether the attacks will expand.
– It may be that we see limited individual attacks that follow each other. Of course, these operations have a bad habit of expanding.
The US was informed of the attack in advance. The reporter asked Alaranta if the attack has the support of the United States.
– Yes and no. The US has always said it is trying to prevent an escalation of the conflict and has said it does not like Israel attacking Lebanon. On the other hand, the United States will not do anything that would decisively hinder Israel’s actions.
Military expert: Israel does not intend to permanently take over land from Lebanon
The goal of Israel’s ground attack is to ensure that Hezbollah can no longer attack Israel from the area of southern Lebanon, according to the head of the Department of Military Art at the National Defense College, colonel Pasi Hirvonen.
– The purpose is to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, such as bases, fire stations, command posts, ammunition depots, maintenance and logistics. However, the attacks are not intended to actually take over areas.
According to Hirvonen, however, there is a possibility that the operation will expand into a longer-lasting war against Hezbollah, if, for example, Israel suffers losses in the attack. Israel is also prepared for this.
– The next phase is planned, where areas from southern Lebanon could be taken over on a larger scale.