Are Israeli moves and strikes a prelude to a military operation?

Recent Israeli military activities, including detonations, strikes, and shelling in southern Lebanon, appear to be setting the stage for a broader military operation, according to security sources in the region.

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appear to be a prelude to a military operation

The observed actions are specifically targeting strategic high ground surrounding the Ali al-Taher hill. These locations, including al-Dabsheh and al-Tahra hills, were under Israeli control before their withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. Security sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Israeli operations are focused on three main fronts.

In the eastern sector, airstrikes and artillery fire are directed at areas around the crucial Ali al-Taher heights, which Israeli forces have been attempting to capture for the past ten weeks. The central sector has seen incursions and raids on towns that serve as entry points to Bint Jbeil. Meanwhile, similar movements and detonations have been reported in the coastal towns of Majdal Zoun and al-Mansouri in southwestern Lebanon.

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Israeli operations and raids are concentrated on three axes.

Sources emphasize that the focus on these hills and the destruction of surrounding homes indicate an Israeli effort to completely isolate Ali al-Taher hill. This strategy aims to prevent movement in its vicinity and establish a buffer zone extending over three kilometers between the hill and areas where some residents have returned. For the past week, repeated airstrikes have hit residential buildings and palaces north and southwest of Ali al-Taher, while houses in Kfar Tebnit, west of the hill, continue to be demolished. Israeli forces are also bombarding the high ground with artillery and phosphorus shells, and using drones to drop and detonate explosives.

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trying to completely isolate the strategic hill from its surroundings, prevent movement on its outskirts, and create a buffer zone of more than three kilometers between the hill and the vital areas to which some residents have returned.