Israel reinforces presence along borders with Syria, Lebanon
Following its unprecedented airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, Israel said that it has mobilised reservists to consolidate its military presence along the borders with Lebanon and Syria, according to The National on June 14th.
This move comes as tensions between Iran and Israel reach unprecedented levels. The military said the mobilisation was in preparation for “various scenarios” after Iran retaliated with airstrikes of its own.
Israeli officials claim that the fatal attacks on Iran were a necessary measure to prevent its regional nemesis from ascertaining a nuclear weapon, an event that Israel sees as an existential threat, despite having a nuclear arsenal of its own.
Fears of a regional spillover have been stoked by the exchange of airstrikes, even as Tehran’s key regional proxies, such as Hezbollah, have not yet suggested that they would participate in any retaliatory action.
Hezbollah has been crippled by 14 months of direct conflict with Israel, which saw the group’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, and much of its command structure be annihilated by two months of intensive Israeli aerial bombardment.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria severed Hezbollah’s only land weapons supply route, further weakening it. Assad’s ouster inflicted another major blow to the Axis of Resistance, an Iran-led alliance which stands against US and Israeli influence.
Hezbollah has assured concerned Lebanese officials that it would remain uninvolved in Iran’s retaliation against Israeli airstrikes.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that it has called up the headquarters of the 146th Reserve Division, as well as the Etzioni and Iron Fist reserve brigades, to bolster its forces along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
The military added that numerous other reserve battalions have been mobilised and deployed to the Syrian border.
Military experts, analysts, and western diplomats emphasised to The National that Hezbollah does not currently possess the capabilities to support Iran in any meaningful capacity against Israel.
On June 14th, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun chaired a meeting to discuss the escalation between Iran and Israel, showing that fears linger as Lebanon’s stability and security remains precarious.
The National, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
