Expert urges Israel to target civilian infrastructure in Lebanon's 'Hezbollah state' - interview

Israel should “target the civilian infrastructure of the ‘Hezbollah state,’ emphasized head of the Alma Research and Education Center and Middle East expert Tal Beeri, during an interview on Radio 104.5FM.

During the interview, Beeri spoke about data indicating a significant increase in rocket launches toward northern Israel since the start of the ground maneuver in southern Lebanon. After stressing his opinion on how the IDF should conduct its operations in Lebanon, Beeri explained, ”I emphasize the 'Hezbollah state.' This includes their electricity, fuel, and water infrastructures.”

“This is in line with international law, which permits striking infrastructure that enables terrorist activities, and in our view, not enough has been done on this issue of targeting the civilian infrastructure” in Lebanon, which Beeri called “Hezbollah state,” throughout the interview.

Beeri then emphasized that there has been a “significant increase in Hezbollah’s attacks,” possibly suggesting that the current approach to combating Hezbollah has not reduced the threat to Israeli civilians. “We're talking about an average of four times the monthly number of attacks compared to before the ground operation,” Beeri added.

Hezbollah's use of drones

He then spoke about the range of the rockets, stressing it has expanded, explaining that “in October, there were 296 attacks on non-evacuated areas, a significant increase compared to September, before the maneuver, when only 160 such attacks were recorded."

Beeri also stressed that Hezbollah’s drones were “ultimately,” the terrorist organization’s “trump card,” despite rockets being employed as their “main weapons.” He then explained that drones were “the central component of Hezbollah's victory narrative, and they need these 'victory images.' This is why we see a clear trend of increasing” use of drones,” he said.

Beeri concluded by assessing that “as discussions about a potential ceasefire agreement increase and the agreement seems closer, both rocket and drone fire will likely intensify in an attempt to secure this 'victory image.'"