Israel’s military has withdrawn several of its brigades from southern Lebanon to “refresh” themselves as Israeli officials involved in negotiations report that “a settlement in the north” could be reached in the coming days, Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on 5 November.
The ground operation in south Lebanon is expected to continue for a few more weeks, depending on what “progress” is made in the talks, the report says.
“Against the background of an assessment by officials involved in negotiations for a settlement in the north that an agreement may be reached within a week and a half to two weeks, the IDF has withdrawn several brigades from southern Lebanon to refresh,” Yedioth Ahronoth wrote.
“Depending on the progress in the regulation efforts, the ground activity is expected to continue for a few more weeks,” it added. “The military waits for a decision to be made by the political establishment."
The news coincides with reports that dozens of villages and tens of thousands of homes in south Lebanon have been wiped out by the Israeli army.
"Within the framework of the destructive war waged by the Israeli military on Lebanon, in an area roughly three kilometers deep that extends from Naqoura to Khiam, more than 37 towns have been totally wiped out, and more than 40,000 housing units have been completely destroyed," the correspondent of Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on 5 November.
Israel released footage on Monday showing the detonation of entire neighborhoods and scores of houses in southern Lebanon’s Mays al-Jabal.
Several videos of home demolitions carried out by Israeli forces have surfaced since Tel Aviv launched its failed ground operation in southern Lebanon, which began at the very start of October.
Despite the destruction, Israeli forces have been unable to achieve the goal of pushing Hezbollah away from the border, establishing a buffer zone, and securing the return of tens of thousands of settlers who were evacuated from their northern settlements at the start of the war last year.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported last week that despite deploying 50,000 soldiers to Lebanon, the army was unable to “capture even a single village.” It notes that five divisions were deployed, three times the force that was sent into south Lebanon and defeated in 2006.
The Hebrew newspaper also reported on 4 November that Israel is facing a serious shortage of troops.
Israeli troops have incurred staggering losses fighting Hezbollah – which says it has killed at least 95 soldiers since early last month.
The resistance group’s Operations Room recently confirmed that the “enemy army has not been able to fully control or occupy any village on the front edge of southern Lebanon.”
Israeli troops were forced to withdraw from the town of Khiam on Saturday after several days of fierce clashes and losses taken at the hands of Hezbollah.
Video footage released by Hezbollah on 3 November shows a gathering of Israeli soldiers being targeted with an anti-tank missile near the border village of Kfar Kila.
Meanwhile, in the negotiations – which are meant to be based on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 – Israel is demanding a unilateral ceasefire from the Lebanese side, as well as freedom of military action on Lebanese territory – including airspace.