Is Israel going to launch a ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon?

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00Tensions remain high across the Israeli-Lebanese border a day after the

00:04death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was announced. Israel says it

00:09hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight on Saturday, prompting the

00:13militant group to respond with a fresh salvo of rocket attacks. Prime Minister

00:18Benjamin Netanyahu said Nasrallah's killing was a quote necessary step

00:23towards changing the balance of power in the region for years to come. The

00:27sustained military campaign is raising fears the war could spiral into wider

00:32regional conflict. Meanwhile, Israel continues to amass troops along its

00:36northern border with Lebanon, fueling speculation a ground operation could be

00:41imminent. Well, let's get the latest from our reporter Claire Pakalan, standing

00:46by in the Israeli town of Safed, just south of the border. Hi Claire, well good

00:51to have you. You're pretty close to the Lebanese border, aren't you, as rocket

00:55fire exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah continue. How are the people

00:59in Safed reacting to the escalating situation?

01:06So the town of Safed in the upper Galilee is around about 14 kilometres

01:10from Lebanon. You can't quite see Lebanon behind me, it's over the other

01:14side of the crest of the hill that you can just about make out in the

01:18background behind me. And we're near an air force base, which means this

01:22area is very vulnerable to rocket fire coming from Lebanon, fired of

01:27course by Hezbollah. And I've been speaking to people in the town and

01:30they say in the last few weeks, particularly in the last few days, it

01:34has really ramped up and increased. People here in the town telling me

01:38that they've been watching in the last few days, rockets aimed at the

01:42military base landing in the forest near their home, setting trees on

01:47fire. Sometimes the rockets land there, other times they are intercepted by

01:51Israel's air defence system, the Iron Dome. Of course people in Safed are

01:55nervous and anxious, but they do receive alerts on their mobile phones

02:00when the area they're in is getting targeted by rocket fire. And people

02:04have in this town around 30 seconds to get to safety. Not everyone here has

02:10a shelter in their homes. There are some shelters that we've seen in the

02:14streets, but certainly people here are tense and the streets are largely

02:18empty with a lot of people staying home at the moment.

02:21So tensions are really palpable where you are. Now, what could be the next

02:25steps then for Israel's military? And are there any signs that Prime

02:29Minister Netanyahu is ready for a ceasefire?

02:36Well, clearly from the Israeli side, we understand that this military

02:39campaign is still at full force. Israel continuing to pound Hezbollah

02:44targets in Lebanon today. Of course, there's a big question mark over

02:47whether a ground offensive is on the cards. We have ourselves reached out

02:53to the Israeli military, to the Israel Defence Forces, the IDF, and we

02:57were told when we have something to tell you, we will tell you. So we do

03:01not know if a ground offensive is going to happen, if it's going to be

03:05imminent. We don't know if it could have even already started. The

03:07Israeli military are being very tight lipped about that. Of course, what's

03:12important to remember is that while Israel does have superiority in the

03:16skies, going in on the ground into Lebanon is a very different matter.

03:20But Israel has severely degraded Hezbollah, particularly in recent

03:26weeks, taking out the top brass of its leadership, of course, including

03:30the leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the evening from Friday through to

03:33Saturday. So Hezbollah is degraded, but they are still capable of

03:37launching rockets into northern Israel, where I am now.

03:40Well, Claire Pakavan reporting from Safed in Israel. Thank you for that

03:44update. And please stay safe.

Category

Transcript

Recommended