Arabic Mein Kampf, pictures of Ayatollah Khamenei found in homes - IDF pushes further into southern Lebanon as ceasefire fails to materialize

IDF chief of staff holds situational assessment in southern Lebanon

Over the weekend, the IDF carried out several waves of strikes across Lebanon, increasing military pressure in an apparent push to bring about a ceasefire agreement that will stabilize the northern front and push Hezbollah north of the Litani River.

So far, despite U.S. and western efforts to find a solution, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah has failed to materialize.

The IAF has carried out a number of strikes across a wide range of Lebanese territory, not only in Beirut, but also in Tyre, Nabatieh, Baalbek, and the Litani River area. The IAF has apparently been prioritizing Hezbollah leadership, rocket launch sites, and other key elements of Hezbollah’s infrastructure.

Along with those airstrikes, the IDF has sent ground troops further into Lebanon than at any point in the current war. Ground forces recently reached 6-7 kilometers from the Israeli border, operating in villages where the IDF had not previously conducted ground operations.

IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, held a situational assessment in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon along with the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the 91st Division, BG Shai Klapper, and other commanders.

“Hezbollah has paid a big price, its chain of command has collapsed, many of its operatives have been killed, and extensive infrastructure dismantled,” Halevi said.

“This organization will continue to fire, and we will continue to fight, to implement plans, to go further, conduct deep strikes, and hit Hezbollah very hard. We will stop when we know that we are bringing back the residents (of northern Israel) in safety.”

The IDF chief and the head of the IDF Northern Command are seen strolling in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, how did you let this happen? pic.twitter.com/E17V777jlC
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 16, 2024

The IDF Spokesperson announced that fighters of the Haruv Patrol [combat reconnaissance] are operating in southern Lebanon for the first time since the establishment of the unit, under the command of the combat team of the Northern Nahal Brigade (228). Haruv Patrol comes to Lebanon after several operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Haruv forces raided a number of targets in villages in southern Lebanon, locating a shaft leading to underground infrastructure, and near those facilities, a depot of weapons, ammunition, and motorcycles apparently ready for the planned Galilee raid.

Combat engineering forces destroyed the underground infrastructure, weapons depots, military structures, and munitions.

Fighters from the Duvdevan Unit, part of the Commando Brigade which specializes in counterterrorism operations, have also been operating in Lebanon. The unit has also come into Lebanon after extensive experience in Judea and Samaria and in Gaza.

Fighrers from Duvdevan told Ynet news that they found pictures of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in many of the houses, but in some houses, they found pictures of Iranian leaders, like Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In house, the soldiers even found an Arabic translation of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

“In one of the living rooms, we even found a copy of Mein Kampf, Hitler’s book,” soldiers told Ynet. “Parts were underlined and highlighted inside as if someone had studied it line by line.”

One of the soldiers told Ynet that fighting in Lebanon is different than in Gaza, which is very flat, with tight compact streets, or in Judea in Samaria, which also has houses packed closely together.

“Here in Lebanon, it’s very mountainous and the distance between houses is greater,” he explained.

Over the past couple days, troops of the Commando Brigade, under the command of the 91st Division, have been conducting limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon, in the area from which missiles and rockets were fired toward Israeli communities. The troops located and destroyed launchers, short-range rockets that were intended to strike the communities of the Galilee area, guns, and additional weaponry.