In an interview with Israel Hayom, Haim Tomer, a former senior official at the Mossad's Intelligence and Special Task Force, expressed his pessimism about "Israel" surviving an all-out war with the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon. 

He warned that declaring an all-out war on Lebanon now, following eight months of aggression on Gaza, will jeopardize "Israel's" functionality as an occupation entity — economically, socially, and internationally. He emphasizes that the "public must grasp the threat an all-out war poses to Israel's Zionist vision".

Hezbollah would paralyze 'Israel' 

Tomer envisions thousands of Hezbollah missiles over the entire occupation entity, "silencing it for weeks." He emphasizes that if "Israel" is gearing up for an all-out war with Hezbollah, as the Chief of Staff suggests, "it implies the launch of thousands of missiles targeting the country's core, causing widespread paralysis for weeks, affecting Israel, the Port of Haifa, and military airports in the north".

"It is possible that the fate of the abandoned Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee, where there is a lot of destruction, will be similar for the cities of Acre, Tiberias, and perhaps Haifa as well, and possibly extending even further to Tel Aviv."

Tomer discussed the unprecedented threat that could befall "Israel" and gave credit to Iran for planning the "encirclement" of "Israel", as he put it.

"Israel is in a multi-front war and is on the verge of an issue that is dramatic for its future. Hezbollah is creating a threat that we did not imagine and the IDF has no answer for it. The Iranians prepared the so-called 'Israel encirclement' in a very thorough manner."

'Hezbollah has better tactical intelligence than Israel'

Discussing the threat posed by Hezbollah Tomer argued, "They have precision missiles that can blow up Israel's gas fields in seconds, for all that implies. Israel has no answer to both Hamas and Hezbollah. Certainly not for the amount of drones that Hezbollah has. In addition, the Israeli Air Force is no longer free to operate over Lebanon because of the detection system that Iran equipped Nasrallah with." He further highlighted the occupation's weakness in the face of Hezbollah at this point. 

Tomer admitted that Hezbollah's tactical and military capabilities shouldn't be underestimated, stressing that "They have better tactical intelligence than Israel, or at least not inferior to Israel's. It is not certain that the Israeli systems that have been developed know how to respond. It is a question of how much and to what extent Hezbollah will attack us."

He suggested that "Hezbollah has a stockpile of various rockets amounting to 100,000 to 150,000 warheads. If they wanted, they would know how to fire 1,500 rockets every day in the first days of the fighting, and after ten days they would barely scratch 10 percent of their arsenal. If such a scenario happens, we will not have a full response."

Related News

Gaza Resistance targets Israeli forces in Khan Younis, central areas

UN, Oxfam warn famine looms as 'Israel' shuts Gaza’s last aid crossing

Tomer explained that "Israel" must recognize that both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have developed advanced battle tactics, which he suggests include underground operations, land-based operations, and various types of ballistic and flying missiles. 

What are the options?

The ex-Mossad official suggested that "If I look a year ahead, I think Israel is debating between two significant options, each with profound implications for the State of Israel. We are at a critical historical crossroads," as cited by Israel Hayom.

He also said that the options are either to accept the Biden outline, "thereby gaining time", or to initiate a large-scale war, a scenario he considers disastrous.

First option 

"First - Israel accepts the Biden outline, which calls for freezing the fighting in Gaza, with the hope that this will also lead to a halt in fighting on the northern front. The intensity of the fighting on both fronts would decrease significantly, some abductees might be released, and we would gain time."

He explains that "Biden is essentially telling Israel: Wait a minute. You've dealt Hamas a very hard blow. Although you haven't killed Sinwar or Mohammad Deif; some battalion structures remain functional and intact." On that note, what Tomer is expressing aligns with what Israeli media is also stressing concerning "Israel's" strategic failure in the Gaza Strip. 

Second option 

According to Tomer, "Another option is to engage in an full-scale war. However, every army needs time to organize, and after eight months of fighting, the IDF is worn out. If we choose to go to war in the north, the IDF must be prepared for the possibility of an all-scale war in Lebanon."

"Israel", according to him, needs to understand the necessity of stopping the war, something he believes the leadership has not handled properly.

What about the 'day after the war'?

Tomer suggested that "Israel" should stop the war and look for "the day after" solutions in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, stressing that the second option - a full-scale war is a bad option. He detailed that Gallant plans to mobilize 350 thousand reserve soldiers in preparation for an all-scale war, stressing that Israeli settlers would not be in favor of such a step. 

'Israel is seen weak on a global scale' 

The former Israeli official explained that politically, "Israel" is now seen as weak on an international and domestic level, highlighting that "it failed on October 7 and continues to struggle today". He explains that a significant rift between the Israeli government and the Biden administration is evident. 

Tomer noted that the US administration harbors reservations about Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, and there is accumulating political anger, especially since Biden is focused on his upcoming elections in November. "What is Netanyahu doing and how is he helping Biden against the Democrats or Republicans?" 

During the interview, he stressed that "Israel has suffered significant damage to its international standing," adding that Netanyahu and Biden's relationship is deteriorating. Moreover, the Israeli presence in Europe "is not very good," he said, citing the recent Israeli ban from the Eurosatory event in France, stressing that it was the first time "Israel" did not participate in the event. 

On a strategic scale, he added that "Israel's international position at the strategic level has been greatly damaged. Israel currently has no coalition against Iran. Iran is educated and Iran is leading the campaign here. Israel is losing the partnership it had with the coalition of the various countries that joined on the night of the Iranian attack on April 14. Israel did not turn this event into an opportunity." 

Concerning the fate of the war and how it ends, Tomer was very vocal about "Israel's" low chances of reaching its "goals" in the Gaza Strip, explaining, "We are at a point where we have not yet defeated Hamas. Although Israel has dealt it a significant and severe blow, it has not achieved complete control of the territory and is not deterred by their ability to launch rockets towards the south."

He concluded that  "Israel" should accept the Biden outline, "The system has experienced mental trauma and the notion that we are determined and fight with all our might and that we would win in the end, is stupidity."