FALCONPOWERS – Israeli media revealed on Tuesday that Defense Minister Yoav Galant is considering how to prepare Israelis in case of a full-scale war with Lebanon.
The news website “Ynet” reported that Galant held a meeting last Thursday to discuss the best ways to prepare Israelis for a possible comprehensive war against Hezbollah in the north.
While Tel Aviv did not claim responsibility for the airstrike that targeted Iranian officials in Damascus on Monday, the website stated, “If we assume that Israel is responsible for the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, there will be a real need to prepare the entire population to confront Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors on a large scale.”
According to the website, “Galant issued instructions to officials to conduct a survey on public awareness of the possibility of war in order to determine the best ways to provide information in preparation for such a possibility.”
The website noted that “there is consensus among officials on the need for a public campaign, although its specifics are still under discussion.”
It added, “The Defense Minister is concerned not only about the Israeli public’s reaction to the increasing possibility of war, but also about the reaction of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to such a public awareness campaign.”
In this regard, it was noted that “Nasrallah is believed to be an avid follower of Israeli media and often analyzes public sentiments in Israel in his speeches, so he may view such a campaign as an opportunity to intensify military conflict with Israel.”
Referring to Nasrallah, the website stated that he “has already achieved a strategic victory in evacuating residents from communities near the Lebanese border, but he has also suffered significant losses during months of fighting, and the elite Al-Ridwan forces under his command have been pushed back about 5 kilometers from the border. Pressure within Lebanon to avoid war has also increased.”
The website pointed out that “the campaign dilemma has haunted senior Israeli army officers since 2006,” which was the year of the July War or the Second Lebanon War as it is called in Israel. It added, “Even if the media focus on the exact number of Hezbollah rockets, the prevailing opinion is that most people either do not know the facts or prefer to ignore them.”
It added, “For example, Hezbollah can launch a large number of rockets in one day, as Hamas did on October 7th, 4000 rockets.”
The website quoted an anonymous Israeli source as saying, “We need to expedite the campaign (against Lebanon). Citizens need to know exactly what we are preparing for, not to panic, but to increase awareness and readiness instead of procrastination.”
The source added, “This does not mean that a large-scale war will break out tomorrow, but defense is of utmost importance because preparedness saves lives.”
The source continued, “The public accepts the guidelines, and it must act in the same way in the event of a full confrontation with Hezbollah.”
On Monday evening, the official Iranian news agency “IRNA” reported that the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus was targeted by an Israeli missile attack.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a statement the killing of 7 of its members, including two generals, in the “Israeli attack” on the mission in Damascus.
Despite Tel Aviv not claiming responsibility for the attack, Israeli Army Radio stated that it “did not target the Iranian embassy building but a neighboring building that served as a military headquarters for the Revolutionary Guard.”
