In recent weeks, the IDF has increased its preparations for a campaign in the north, through consistent and ongoing neutralization of Hezbollah's capabilities - and according to data received by Israel Hayom, the IDF has succeeded in significantly thinning the Lebanese terrorist organization's stockpile of rockets.
The IDF's most extensive offensive activity took place on August 25, when Israel announced that it had carried out a 'preemptive strike' on Hezbollah launchers that were planned to fire at Israel, in response to the assassination of Hezbollah's Chief of Staff, Fuad Shukar.
According to recent IDF estimates, almost 7,000 Hezbollah launchers were hit during the attack, and in fact - almost a fifth of the terrorist organization's short-range rockets.
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On the surface, this figure is inconsistent with the terrifying firepower assessment published in recent years, which, among other things, stated that Hezbollah possesses approximately 180,000 high-altitude weapons.
But in reality, according to IDF estimates, on the evening of August 25, Hezbollah had fewer than 40,000 short-range rockets, defined by the IDF as those that reach a distance of about 40 km from the border, and another 5,000 medium-range rockets.
According to the report in Israel Hayom, most of Hezbollah's firepower consists primarily of short-range mortars, up to about 10 km, and from there the reports of about 180,000 rockets and missiles.
Since that night, the IDF has continued to strike bases aimed at Israel, and only on Friday evening did the IDF report hitting more than 15 Hezbollah launchers and military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. After attacking the launchers, some of which were ready for immediate launch, launches were identified that came out of the launchers and fell in Lebanese territory.
Another significant challenge that Israel faces is the drones and drones launched by Hezbollah.
According to Israel Hayom, the IDF has recently reported improvements in threat detection capabilities, as well as the deployment of various systems along the border intended to improve their interception rates.
Regarding the ground threat near the border: On the evening of October 7, there were more than 2,400 terrorists from the Radwan Force, Hezbollah's elite fighters, along the Lebanon-Israel border, along with about 500 more Islamic Jihad terrorists. According to estimates, today, after 11 months of fighting, there are several hundred terrorists along the border, half of them between 7 km from the border and the Litani.
The security establishment notes that the assassinations of Fuad Shukar, Nasser Unit commander Sami Taleb Abdullah in June, and Aziz Abu Naama Nasser in July significantly damaged Hezbollah. Security sources told Israel Hayom that the attack on these three senior figures significantly undermined Hezbollah's command and control, and since then it has become apparent that Hezbollah's operations are less synchronized and calibrated.
On Friday, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited the northern border and said: "The IDF is very focused on fighting Hezbollah. I think the number of attacks in the last month, the operatives killed, the rockets destroyed, the infrastructure destroyed, is very large.".
""The IDF is attacking many of Hezbollah's capabilities inside Lebanon before they attack us, and at the same time we are also preparing for offensive moves in the field. The combination of significant attacks on Hezbollah to reduce the threats in the Golan Heights is very significant, and we are doing a lot of work on preparing for a forward attack.".
