50,000 Israeli Troops Fail to Capture Any Lebanese Town

By Al Mayadeen English

2 Nov 2024 22:48

Despite deploying over 50,000 troops, Israeli forces have yet to capture any villages in South Lebanon, facing strong resistance and high casualties from Hezbollah's defensive tactics.

An Israeli newspaper reported that despite deploying over 50,000 troops in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military has yet to “capture even a single village.” Yedioth Ahronoth noted that after a month of operations involving five divisions—three times the force used in the 2006 war—"Israel" has failed to secure any foothold in the area.

According to the report, Hezbollah’s “effective tactical strategies” are a key factor, including layered defenses with precision munitions targeting Israeli armored vehicles and soldiers. The Israeli military has also struggled with mapping Hezbollah’s positions and neutralizing small, elusive drones.

Hezbollah recently announced that it has destroyed numerous Israeli vehicles since the ground invasion began, including 42 Merkava tanks, 4 bulldozers, 2 Hummers, an armored vehicle, and a troop carrier. The statement added that over 95 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 900 wounded, with three Hermes-450 and two Hermes-900 drones also downed.

Colonel Jack Neriya, a former advisor to Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, commenting on Hezbollah’s tactics, explained that fighters are deliberately allowing Israeli occupation forces to advance before trapping them in ambushes, creating significant challenges for even elite units like Golani.

Neriya warned that this approach could lead to higher casualties for Israeli forces than in any war since the late 1940s.

The Israeli infantry force attacking the eastern neighborhood of the southern Lebanese border village of Khiam over the past two days was forced to retreat and withdraw amid its failure to invade the town, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon reported earlier today. 

The withdrawal began past midnight on Thursday, when the Israeli forces covered their tracks with around 40 white phosphorus projectiles and artillery shells, alongside a series of airstrikes.

Israeli artillery shelling was heavily focused on the northernmost area of the former Khiam detention camp and the easternmost vicinity of the municipality, an axis of direct engagement and ground confrontations, using the appropriate weapons, for about 15 consecutive hours. 

On Friday, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters bombarded an Israeli troop gathering in southernmost Khiam with a barrage of advanced rockets. 

In a series of blows to the Israeli occupation forces, the chief of the IOF Northern Command, Major General Ori Gordin, sustained injuries when his vehicle overturned during a tour along Lebanon's southern border. 

This comes as the Lebanese Resistance valiantly confronts occupation soldiers and their attempts to invade South Lebanon, thwarting their plots and inflicting major damage on their units, including the destruction of their troop carriers, Merkava tanks, and bulldozers.