Israeli Lt. Col. Yaron Buskila, CEO of the “Israel Defense and Security Forum,” asserts that as the war on the northern front escalates, the achievements become increasingly significant for “Israel”.
-
Smoke billows as a result of rockets launched from Lebanon into northern “Israel”, next to the settlement of Kiryat Shmona by the border with Lebanon, on June 4, 2024. (AFP/Getty Images)
Israeli Lt. Col. Yaron Buskila, CEO of the “Israel” Defense and Security Forum, discussed the escalation between “Israel” and Lebanon, highlighting the importance of targeting Lebanese civil infrastructure, The Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.
Buskila stated, “The North is facing the issue of UAVs, which seems like a kind of Russian roulette. How can the security system deal with this.”
“To explain why occasionally there are no sirens, Hezbollah learned to operate with UAVs at a low altitude close to the ground. Because of this, the UAV is not identified, and Hezbollah manages to operate them and attack before the Israeli detection and identification system operates. This has become a challenge for us, but we continue to face Hezbollah as we have in recent years in a symmetrical manner. For every attack they launch at us, we retaliate proportionally,” he stressed.
He further claimed that Hezbollah is aware of the ongoing negotiations regarding the Israeli captives and seeks to exert pressure on “Israel”.
Buskila further said, “We must not play into their hands. This is exactly the time to take action against Hezbollah and Lebanon as a country and attack civilian infrastructures. Hezbollah is also subject to social and public pressure within Lebanon.”
Pressuring Lebanese society is legitimate
Buskila emphasized that if “Israel” doesn’t act decisively to target civilian infrastructure that the Lebanese society values, thereby exerting pressure on Hezbollah, the situation won’t improve. According to him, taking more aggressive actions should have happened earlier.
“The economic interest they had with the gas agreement needs to be canceled immediately and transferred to our hands as one of the first steps in response to Hezbollah’s activities. The economy in Lebanon is so fragile that the last thing they need is escalation and entry into a war from Israel, which will destroy the Lebanese economy,” he said.
“We are at war. Any target within Lebanon that causes pressure on Lebanese society is legitimate. It could be an airport, energy areas, and others. These are part of the steps taken in war, and we are at war. We are in a fateful year that will determine the future of the State of Israel in terms of security in the next 50 years. The sharper this war becomes and the more significant the achievements, the more peace we will acquire in the coming years,” he stated.
‘Israel’ fears Hezbollah’s response
Buskila continued by expressing that “Israel” and its security apparatus hesitate to conduct attacks due to concerns that Hezbollah may reach targets beyond Haifa and al-Hudayrah.
“The State of Israel and the security system are afraid to carry out attacks for fear that Hezbollah may achieve long-range targets, farther than Haifa and Hadera. As Ofer Shelah wrote in his book, The Courage to Win, even winning requires courage. It also requires the ability to absorb, but ultimately, whoever has endurance and ability and knows his right is the one who wins,” he concluded.