With an enormous potential of five IDF divisions on call, IDF Chief Spokesman Effie Defrin on Monday said that it was still possible that the military might invade southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks overnight.
Defrin did not commit to such an invasion but notably did not rule it out.
Overnight, Hezbollah fired rockets around the northern border and as deep into Israel as the Haifa area. Late Monday night, the terror group also tried to attack Israel with drones, which were reportedly shot down.
No one was killed by the rocket fire, and there was little in terms of reporting of even damage to physical sites, leading to speculation that Hezbollah had intended a symbolic attack that it hoped would lead to a moderate response from Israel.
The IDF chief spokesman emphasized that the IDF had ordered the evacuation of over 50 southern Lebanese villages overnight.
Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem is now in the IDF's crosshairs
Multiple Israeli defense sources, however, indicated to The Jerusalem Post that Israel will take advantage of Hezbollah’s decision to carry out a large operation against it both to physically eliminate many of its capabilities and leaders, as well as to try to further pressure it into disarming vis-à-vis the Lebanese military.
Supporting the narrative of a possible invasion, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir held a briefing on the northern border.
The briefing saw an unusually large turnout, with no fewer than five IDF division commanders, including divisions 210, 91, 146, 162, and 36, the largest number assembled during the 2023-2025 war invasions of Gaza or Lebanon.
He said that Operation Roaring Lion would not only include striking Iran but also would end with “Hezbollah suffering a devastating blow.”
Zamir’s speech followed a new round of IDF strikes on Hezbollah terrorists and terror infrastructure across Lebanon.
“The Lebanese government and Lebanese Armed Forces have been warned numerous times to disarm Hezbollah recently. They did not act, and so we know how to defend ourselves with our own means. We will end this campaign with not just Iran being struck but with Hezbollah suffering a devastating blow,” Zamir stated.
Minutes after Defrin finished his press conference, Defense Minister Israel Katz posted that Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem is now in the IDF’s crosshairs.
Defrin said that the IDF had already killed several top Hezbollah commanders, including in Beirut, and struck dozens of other Hezbollah positions.
The IDF on Monday afternoon confirmed the assassination of Hezbollah intelligence chief Hussein Maklad and a number of other top Hezbollah officials.
According to the IDF, Meklad was responsible for framing Hezbollah’s overall intelligence picture using various intelligence collection tools to assess the IDF’s and Israel’s offensive and defensive capabilities.
He also worked closely with senior Hezbollah operational commanders to plan and execute terror attacks against Israel and its citizens.
Sources told the Post on Monday morning that even though Hezbollah had not struck anyone in Israel with its overnight attacks, the IDF was punishing the group with continued attacks going forward and would not be satisfied with the initial overnight response.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam decried Hezbollah’s attack as “an irresponsible and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon’s security and safety” in a post on X/Twitter on Monday.
There were also calls to finally disarm the group, but Israel has been skeptical until now that the Lebanese military is strong enough. Israel has called for Hezbollah’s disarmament since a ceasefire between the sides in November 2024, following around 13 months of conflict.
Since that ceasefire, Israel has struck Hezbollah periodically when it has said the terror group violated the terms of the ceasefire, but has otherwise avoided a larger conflict and has not attacked top officials in Beirut like Qassem.
Separately, the IDF said it has drafted 110,000 reservists into active duty and is prepared to draft many more if necessary.
The fact that the Israeli military has not yet drafted more soldiers suggests that it has not yet decided to invade Lebanon, which would likely require more troops.