The border town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon is witnessing a noticeable field escalation, as Israeli military movements are recorded inside the town in conjunction with intense flight of helicopters and the sounds of explosions being heard in the area, which reflects the escalation of tension on the southern front.
Information reported that Israeli tanks advanced on the Maroun al-Ras axis towards the center of the town, after they had been stationed in the northern and eastern areas.
The reporter explained that these movements were accompanied by intense air sorties by military helicopters that fired bursts of gunfire in the area, while the echoes of successive explosions were heard.
Field sources reported that some of these explosions resulted from the launching of missiles by Hezbollah towards Israeli positions on the border.
These field developments come in light of increasing indicators indicating the possibility of expanding the scope of military operations on the Lebanese front.
The Israeli newspaper “Maariv” revealed that the Israeli army is preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon by strengthening its forces on the northern border and transferring additional combat units to the region, in preparation for the possibility of carrying out a ground operation inside Lebanese territory that may last for days or even weeks.
According to the report, the Israeli army took a decision during the last hours to push the “98th Division, known as the “Commando Division”” to the northern front, in addition to transferring the regular Paratroopers Brigade and the “Nahal” Brigade to enhance combat capabilities in the border region.
The report indicated that the Israeli army had previously deployed the “36th Armored Division” alongside the “146th Division” along the northern border, allowing the formation of a large force capable of carrying out a wide military maneuver within Lebanese territory if the political decision to do so was issued.
In the same context, Israeli army spokeswoman Captain Ella Wawiyeh announced that Israeli Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir ordered a major reinforcement of forces in the Northern Command, with the aim of raising the level of readiness to deal with various offensive and defensive scenarios.
“Wawiya” explained in a post on the “X” platform that the army will enhance its deployment on the northern border by deploying additional regular units that include military teams, brigades and engineering battalions, according to an assessment of the operational situation.
She added that this step is accompanied by the call-up of reserve forces to replace the regular units being transferred to the northern front, with the aim of maintaining continuity of operations in the remaining regions.
