Israel does not want to go to war with Hezbollah, but in case it happens, the Israeli military is prepared to face up to 2,500 missiles a day from the group, AFP reported on Sunday, citing a senior Israeli military officer.
According to Uri Gordin, chief of the Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command, in the May conflict with armed groups in Gaza, cities like Tel Aviv and Ashdod saw the "highest number of fire towards them in the history of Israel."
“We saw a pace of more than 400 rockets fired towards Israel on a daily basis," Gordin is quoted in the report as saying. "Basically, we are looking at between 1,500 and 2,500 rockets fired daily towards Israel."
Civil defense is the responsibility of the IDF's Home Front Command, which is in charge of preparing the country in the event of a threat, conflict, or disaster.
According to the report, the unit was chastised for its response to Hezbollah in the 2006 conflict, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis.
According to Gordin, as cited in the report, the conflict served as a "wake-up call" for the Home Front Command, which has since bolstered up its liaison groups, which are now operating in 250 Israeli communities to provide assistance in the event of an attack.
The Home Front Command employs computer projections to estimate the trajectory of a rocket after it has been fired, and tells the population to seek refuge in bomb shelters if they are within a certain range.
This allowed rescue services to "go to every incident in less than five minutes" during the 11-day war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in May, according to the military official. He reportedly claimed that plans had been established in case of an incident on the Lebanon border.
Major General Ori Gordin, chief of Israel's Home Front Command, speaks during an interview with AFP at the command's operational centre in the central town of Ramle, on October 12, 2021.
© AFP 2023 / JACK GUEZ
Moreover, an undisclosed Israeli security source stated that the IDF is reportedly seeking "stability" with its northern neighbor, which is embroiled in a crushing economic crisis and saw fatal sectarian confrontations in the capital Beirut on Thursday that left seven people dead, including Hezbollah members.
The security source claimed that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is "the source of instability in Lebanon," and that the group "exploits the state’s resources for Iranian interests."
In its turn, Iran is "closer to creating fissile material for nuclear weapons than they ever were in the past," according to the source, but Israeli officials reportedly expect that it will take about two years to produce a bomb, which is consistent with other Israeli officials' estimates.
The Israeli security and military agencies are said to be prepared "for all options and scenarios, including military capabilities."