Hezbollah increases attacks, IDF expands Gaza operations

[Valin]

FDD Long War Journal

Seth Frantzman

December 27, 2023

Israel is facing threats on multiple fronts, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on December 26. The multi-front war is one that Iran has been seeking to bring to Israel’s borders for several years. Gallant said, “we are in a multi-front war. We are being attacked from seven different arenas: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, [the West Bank], Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.” He said Israel had responded in six of these arenas. The statement comes as Israel is facing increasing attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon and also focusing on potential strategy shifts in Gaza.

In northern Israel on December 27, the IDF Chief of Staff Herzi HaLevi told IDF troops that Israel is in a state of high readiness. He was conducting a situational assessment and visiting Israel’s Northern Command. He met with Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin. “Our first task is to safely return the residents, and this will take time. Today, we approved plans for a variety of contingencies, and we need to be prepared to strike if required,” Halevi said according to a statement distributed by the IDF. He reiterated claims that Israeli officials have made: “We will not return the residents without both security and a sense of security.” This means that as long as Hezbollah continues its attacks, some 80,000 Israelis cannot return to 40 northern communities near the border.

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Procurement of spare parts and munitions for the ongoing war is essential for Israel. The war is now longer than any campaign since Defensive Shield in the early 2000s. Israel’s Ministry of Defense said on December 27 that it is increasing its procurement for Israel’s Namer Armored Personnel Carriers. The Namer is used by key battalions, such as Golani, for fighting in Gaza. The Ministry has now ordered a variety of parts as well as protection for the APCs. It did not specify if the protection includes armor or the Trophy system which is installed on the vehicles. There have been very few reports of APCs being badly damaged in Gaza and the protection systems appear to be working as expected. The IDF currently has not specified any numbers for interceptions with the system in this operation.

In total, 498 IDF soldiers have been killed since October 7.