IDF Preparing to Resume Fighting in Lebanon

The IDF is preparing on the ground for a possible expansion of its military operations in Lebanon, amid continuing Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire, according to a report Monday by N12.

Military preparations are already taking place in order to give the political leadership the option of widening the fighting if it decides to do so. An IDF source told N12 that the army is waiting for instructions from the government while preparing accordingly in the field.

“We are preparing for the possibility that the political echelon will give the green light to expand the operation in Lebanon,” the source said.

Some of the activity is reportedly taking place in areas where the IDF is not permanently stationed, but still within the yellow line. Three IDF divisions are currently operating in Lebanon.

The report comes ahead of a third round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, expected to take place Thursday in Washington. Those talks are taking place as the ceasefire continues to fray under repeated Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces.

On Monday morning, the IDF cleared for publication the name of another soldier killed by Hezbollah fire since the ceasefire began. Master Sgt. (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, from Petah Tikva, was killed by a Hezbollah explosive drone. He served as a vehicle driver in the 6924th Transport Battalion.

Glovanyov is the fourth member of the Israeli security forces killed by Hezbollah since the ceasefire went into effect.

His mother, Flora, told N12 that he was her only son. “Alexander was a good and beloved son,” she said. “Now I am alone, I have no one. I don’t know what I will do now.”

Hezbollah’s explosive drones have become a central threat to IDF forces in the current phase of fighting. The military has developed effective electronic warfare tools against drones without fiber-optic control, but fiber-optic drones remain a more difficult challenge because they do not rely on a radio signal that can be jammed.

A reservist serving in Lebanon told N12 that troops now constantly watch the skies. “There is nothing we can do with it,” he said. “We can defend ourselves if we are very alert. That is why there is always at least one soldier looking upward.”

The IDF has been using temporary measures, including deploying protective nets over military vehicles. In recent days, the commander of the Ground Forces appointed Brig. Gen. O., head of the multi-branch strike brigade, to lead efforts to develop a response to the growing drone threat.