IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday ordered significant reinforcements to the North, indicating that Ground Forces involvement in Lebanon might escalate.
He instructed the IDF to reinforce Northern Command and redeploy the Golani Brigade from operations in Gaza to the North, the IDF said.
Despite ramping up operations on the northern border, Home Front Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Shai Klepper told citizens on Wednesday evening that there would be no changes to the civilian security guidelines, adding that the guidelines would be re-evaluated over the weekend.
"I know that with the renewal of fighting on the northern front, feelings of discomfort and uncertainty have resurfaced," Klepper said. "At the same time, I want to say that the IDF is beyond the border, defending the residents of the north and operating to directly and significantly weaken Hezbollah."
The Golani Brigade is the IDF’s foremost large-scale offensive invasion force. It is usually not brought into a new sector just to carry out guard duty.
The IDF has already sent the 36th and 91st Divisions deeper into southern Lebanon than the original plans dictated.
So far, the 146th and 210th Divisions have not advanced as deeply, but they also have expanded operations in southern Lebanon beyond the five outposts that Israel has maintained near the border since the November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah.
In the coming days, the IDF is expected to approach 1,000 attacks in Lebanon, including dozens of major airstrikes in the Beirut neighborhood of Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold.
Moreover, the military has reported a growing trend of direct confrontations with Hezbollah on the ground in southern Lebanon, uncovering and killing more cells of terrorists as it patrols new areas.
The IDF is also uncovering more areas within southern Lebanon where Hezbollah hid weapons.
Hezbollah still able to successfully ambush IDF
Despite these successes, the terrorist organization has managed to ambush the IDF on several occasions.
According to some reports, Hezbollah is using drones and other advanced methods to track the IDF, as well as poor information security by some soldiers who post their positions on social media.
The Golani reinforcements appear to be directed at this issue, but they will also make it easier for the IDF to launch a large invasion of southern Lebanon as it did in the fall of 2024.
Although both Iran and Hezbollah continued to launch a steady stream of missiles, rockets, and drones at Israel, Wednesday was the first day with no reported casualties or significant harm to property as of the time of writing.
There was still a high probability that some northern towns had taken hits and did not yet realize it because of limited mobility in those areas, or they were not reporting on it as part of efforts to undermine Hezbollah’s achievements.
Unlike the 2023-2024 conflict, when most residents had evacuated from the North, the vast majority of local residents during this war have remained at home.
Meanwhile, the IAF launched another wide-scale wave of strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps infrastructure across Iran on Wednesday.
IAF fighter jets had struck a group of operatives from Iran’s drone array at a launch site in western Iran shortly before they were set to launch drones toward Israel, the IDF said Wednesday.
“On Monday, the Israel Air Force identified several operatives from the Iranian terrorist regime drone array at a launch site in Western Iran,” it said, adding that the strike took place shortly after the operatives had entered the launch site.
The IDF said it was continuing to operate against missile-related infrastructure in western Iran “to reduce, to the extent possible, the scope of missile fire toward Israeli territory.”
Leo Feierberg Better, Fraidy Moser, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.