Hezbollah 'keeps fighting; conducts complex, deadly' operations: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
19 Oct 2024 21:35

The Israeli military command has given strict instructions on evacuations, fearing its soldiers would be captured by Hezbollah fighters, according NYT.

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Hezbollah's elite Resistance fighters pose for a photo released on August 13, 2024. (Islamic Resistance in Lebanon/ MIlitary Media)

Despite the extensive Israeli strikes and attacks against the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah, the Resistance "keeps fighting," The New York Times (NYT) reported.

Since the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, Israeli occupation forces have faced a "flexible enemy" that has executed "complex" and "deadly" operations, the US-based outlet explained. This includes a barrage of rockets, swarms of one-way attack drones, and close-range battles that have killed multiple Israeli troops.

Hezbollah's top-tier attacks are the "latest indication that Israel's swift escalation" has failed to disable the Resistance.

Nicholas Blanford, a Hezbollah expert at The Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank in Washington, spoke of Hezbollah's two decades of preparation for a possible war with the Israeli occupation.

He highlighted the group's flexible structure, tactical control, and the clarity of instructions previously handed to field commanders. According to the expert, these field commanders have a margin of autonomy, knowing that their main objective is to "hit the Israeli soldiers coming across the line."

Further highlighting the Resistance's capabilities, NYT, citing six Israeli military officials, said that Israeli troops have discovered that Hezbollah is "a formidable enemy."

'Intense fears' of soldiers being captured, force tactics change

In one battle, Hezbollah fighters ambushed and killed six Israeli soldiers, while 30 others were injured in the firefight which lasted for 4 hours, Israeli officials asserted.

According to NYT's figures, 18 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, however, the number is expected to be higher, as the Israeli military censor imposes a strict gag order on information regarding IOF casualties.

The outlet also reported on the reluctance of the Israeli military to use helicopters to evacuate soldiers, often depending on ground-based vehicles to do so.

"Injured soldiers must be driven to hospitals on snaking, narrow roads," the newspaper reported, adding that the Israeli regime's fears that Hezbollah could capture soldiers are "so intense."

Earlier on Saturday, Hezbollah destroyed its 22nd Israeli Merkava tank during the period of Israeli ground aggression on Lebanon. Defensive operations come in parallel with fire support that has inflicted multiple casualties behind enemy lines and long-range strikes on major city settlements and occupied Palestinian cities.

Hezbollah has swiftly rebounded from Israeli strikes intended to dismantle its command structure and strategic depots, and its recent escalations on the battlefield serve as evidence of the group's resilience.