Israel’s war front shifts dramatically to north against Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists

JERUSALEM - Signs of a third full-blown war between Israel and the U.S.-designated terrorist movement, Hezbollah, which runs a state-within-a-state in Lebanon, are rapidly solidifying. Israel has fought two previous wars against terrorist forces embedded in Lebanon, in 1982 and 2006, and a third war appears to be looming. 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) re-deployed its elite and battle-tested 98th Division from the southern war theater in Gaza against Hamas to the north, in a possible prelude to what some say could be a ground invasion to root out Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.

IDF Reserve Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told Fox News Digital, that war in the north against Hezbollah is around the corner. "A few weeks ago it was clear that, due to the fact that Israel had destroyed most of Hamas' forces, Hamas does not pose a serious threat to Israel anymore. This was a moment to decide to change the strategy and move the center of gravity from the south to north." 

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The rapid-fire movements unfolding in Israel—a country the size of New Jersey—come amid the Jewish state’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad, allegedly detonating Hezbollah operatives’ electronic devices in a scene out of a John le Carré spy novel. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding some 2,800 others.

Another wave of electronic devices detonated on Wednesday, killing at least 25 and wounding more than 450. Hezbollah officials said the devices included walkie-talkies and solar equipment.

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Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in heavy aerial warfare over the last 48 hours. Israel’s war cabinet declared the return of as many as 100,000 Israelis who were forced to flee the north because of Hezbollah attacks as a key war objective.

Avivi, who is the head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, noted that there is no way to bring back the displaced Israelis safely to their homes in the north "without pushing Hezbollah out of south Lebanon and hitting Hezbollah hard—all of their capabilities all throughout Lebanon." 

He said the chances of securing a diplomatic solution are "extremely low due to lack of international pressure and unwillingness of the U.S. to pose a credible military threat against Iran and Hezbollah."

The United Nations has failed to enforce U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 that required Hezbollah to be disarmed after its 2006 war against the Jewish state. 

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In another devastating setback for Hezbollah, an IDF strike on Friday took out members of the elite Hezbollah Radwan force in Beirut.

IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani announced on Friday on X, "We eliminated Ibrahim Aqil earlier today in a precise strike in Beirut, Lebanon. At the time of the strike, Ibrahim Aqil, and the approx. 10 Radwan commanders who were eliminated with him, gathered underground—under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiyah neighborhood, hiding among Lebanese civilians—using them as human shields." The number of senior Radwan members assassinated has since been raised to 15.

Aqil was a wanted global Islamist terrorist with the blood of American military personnel on his hands. He was wanted by the United States for his alleged role in the bombing of a U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983. He is also believed to be linked to the taking of American hostages in Lebanon during the 1980s.

Shoshani added, "They were in the middle of planning more terror attacks against Israeli civilians. Terror attacks like the 200 rockets fired today at Israeli civilians and many more. These commanders also planned Hezbollah’s "Conquer the Galilee" attack plan, in which Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israeli communities and murder innocent civilians."

Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8—a day after its ally Hamas invaded Israel and slaughtered nearly 1,200 people. Hezbollah’s attacks have killed more than 40 people in Israel, including 12 Israeli Druze children on a packed soccer field in July.

Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman told Fox News Digital "Had Israel wanted to launch a full-blown offensive against the Iranian proxy in Lebanon, it wouldn’t have waited more than 11 months to do so. The IDF is striking launchers and military infrastructure in Lebanon, after having delivered a stunning and demoralizing blow by causing communication devices to explode, in what perhaps is the last effort by Israel to apply pressure on Hezbollah to agree to a diplomatic deal that can prevent a war."

Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added, "If Hezbollah cares about the future of Lebanon, it would do right by withdrawing from the Israeli border and ceasing its aggression against Israel, and decouple its artificial connection with Hamas’ war against Israel. At the end of the day, the Israeli authorities are obliged to facilitate the safe return of evacuated Israelis to their homes, either by a diplomatic deal or by military action."

Rami Mortada, Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.K., told The Times of London that an Israeli invasion "is a doomsday scenario for everyone. It’s definitely a doomsday for Lebanon." He warned that Lebanon will not suffer alone in a fresh war.

Israeli war planners have spent 17 years since the last war against Hezbollah in 2006 preparing for the doomsday conflict in the north. 

Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.