Israeli assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon to occur in three phases, Saudi reporter predicts

According to a Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath, the Israeli attack on Lebanon is planned to occur in three separate phases, targeting Hezbollah leaders and infrastructure.

 Israeli soldiers guard in Metula, on the border between Israel and Lebanon, northern Israel, on May 14, 2021, after Lebanese protesters crossed the Israeli border fence. (photo credit: BASEL AWIDAT/FLASH90)
Israeli soldiers guard in Metula, on the border between Israel and Lebanon, northern Israel, on May 14, 2021, after Lebanese protesters crossed the Israeli border fence.
(photo credit: BASEL AWIDAT/FLASH90)

The Israeli attack on Lebanon will be carried out in three distinct stages, a source from Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath reported on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Shukar,  a reporter at Al-Hadath, stated in an interview on the Saudi channel that the first wave of the Israeli attack will target the usual Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, “located deep within the area, around 20 to 30 km away.” 

He referred to these sites as “old military bases,” adding that they will be targeted with “different weapons compared to the past." The second wave, according to Shukar, will target the coastal road, specifically the routes from Tyre to Sidon and up to the outskirts of Beirut, “where Hezbollah targets such as warehouses and infrastructure may be located," he said. 

Lebanon-Syria border to be targetted

The third wave of attacks, Shukar continued, will target the area around the Lebanon-Syria border, specifically focusing on regions like Baalbek, a city about 67 km northeast of Beirut.

This phase will reportedly extend deeper into Lebanon to strike key Hezbollah targets, including military and logistical support systems, he said. 

 A view shows the rubble of a damaged building, the day after an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 31, 2024.  (credit: REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Kerdi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A view shows the rubble of a damaged building, the day after an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 31, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Kerdi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Shukar made these predictions on the same day that the IDF conducted a precision strike on a Hezbollah target in Beirut, which killed Hezbollah's most senior military commander and the head of its Strategic Unit, Fuad Shukr.

Shukr was the Hezbollah commander responsible for the rocket attack three days earlier, which killed twelve children and teenagers in the northern Golan town of Majdal Shams

“As for Hezbollah, there are no visible actions or movements on the ground,” Shukar concluded. “No one knows what Hezbollah is planning.”