The Israeli cabinet rejects army chiefs’ demands to expand the IDF ground campaign in South Lebanon and call up more reserves
These decisions were reached the day after Israel sustained severe losses in battles with Hizballah at Bint Jubeil and Maroun er Ras. The key decision set a ceiling of three reserve divisions which may be mobilized if and when needed, subject to future cabinet authorization.
Army chiefs argued that the cabinet was playing into Hizballah hands by holding the IDF to a slow pace of advance and keeping it short of the troops needed now to crush Hizballah and halt its rocket blitz against Israeli cities which has climbed to more than 160 a day.
They informed the ministers that Wednesday, July 26, Tehran permitted Hassan Nasrallah to start shooting rockets at the area between Netanya and Tel Aviv.
Wednesday, July 26, Israel lost nine officers and men in clashes with the Hizballah in Bint Jubeil and an area closer to Maroun er Ras. Another 4 soldiers were injured, altogether 26, five seriously, on the deadliest day of the 15-day war in South Lebanon.
The cabinet also decided against opening a second front against Syria although, as debkafile‘s military sources stress, Damascus is an active partner in Hizballah’s offensive, serves as a staging post for its weapons supplies from Iran and pushes arms and rockets into Lebanon.