If and when Israel enters into a future conflict with Hezbollah, it would take the IDF months to clear the Iranian Shiite proxy out of its strongholds, Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Eshel warned earlier this week.
Speaking at Tel Aviv University's Yuval Neeman workshop for Science, Technology and Security videoconference, Eshel – a former Israeli Air Force commander – maintained that if Israel fights similarly to past wars, it would take not days or weeks but it possibly "months before Israel was able to establish order in core Hezbollah areas."
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Eshel further cautioned that simultaneous to the IDF undertaking this task, Hezbollah would be firing rockets at Israel's home front. The terrorist group is estimated to have as many as 150,000 missiles – an unknown number of which are said to have precision-guided capabilities.
The former air force chief estimated that in a best-case scenario, Israel might successfully destroy nearly 80% of that total, meaning that a remainder of over 30,000 missiles could still be used to cause untold physical and economic damage, as well an expected massive loss of life – far greater than the country has ever experienced.
Eshel said the IDF would be forced to attack Lebanese civilian areas where Hezbollah is known to store significant weapons depots.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly to assert that Israeli military intelligence was aware of at least one neighborhood in Beirut that was used for this purpose.
Eshel also cautioned that fighting wars is no longer an issue of decisive victories and that Israel "must understand the limits of its military power."
He added that swiftly destroying Lebanon's infrastructure would be the quickest way to get the group to agree to a ceasefire because it is much more afraid of a long post-war rebuild than of extended guerrilla fighting and firing rockets at the Israeli home front.
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