EXCLUSIVE — Hezbollah presents a "unique" and "more challenging" threat than Hamas to Israel, which is in the process of fighting the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist faction, an Israel Defense Forces soldier described in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday he is trying to "prevent" the country "from entering the war" the same day the IDF carried out a strike against a Hezbollah terrorist cell prepared to launch rockets toward Israel's Rosh HaNikra and fired mortars across the border.
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"We call it an exhaustion war, every site trying to tire out the other," Itai Reuveni, a combat medic in the elite Paratroopers Brigade infantry, said. "The main strategic challenge is actually not in Gaza but in the north. This is why there's all eyes on the north. Our hearts are in the south, but our eyes are on the north."
"Everyone, no matter their ideology, is full of vengeance and anger, but strong," Reuveni, communications director for the Israeli watchdog group NGO Monitor, though not speaking on its behalf to the Washington Examiner, also said. "This is an existence war."
Since the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, over 1,400 Israelis have been killed, while 5,400 have been injured in the country, according to Israeli officials. The death toll for United States citizens reached at least 33 last week, the State Department said. Hamas alleges over 8,000 are dead in Gaza, though national security experts and the U.S. government have scrutinized data coming from the terrorist group's Health Ministry as unreliable.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish state was entering a "second stage" of the war amid the country's ground operation in Gaza. Hamas is believed to have almost 230 hostages from Israel, which aims to "destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas" and bring the hostages home, Netanyahu said. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, noted on Sunday the U.S. is "prepared to support humanitarian pauses" to Gaza to free any American hostages.
Almost 50 Hezbollah fighters have died in the last three weeks following Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon, which is roughly a fifth of its fatalities since Israel and Hezbollah's 2006 war, Reuters reported. The Iranian-funded faction is now reportedly exploring ways to reduce deaths and contain clashes to an area along the border, though Israel's army has expanded operations. Hezbollah lost 263 of its men in the 2006 war, which Reuveni also fought in.
"The bulk of Israeli combat forces in reserves have gone north," Reuveni, 40, told the Washington Examiner. "It's a low engagement conflict, but it's very tense. There are other forces ready to defend towns if something will happen like that in Gaza."
"Hezbollah is a different player," he said. "They have 10,000 elite members trained in Iran. They have a lot of experience fighting in Syria."
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said recently the group had 100,000 fighters, and weeks ago, as the attack against Israel unfolded, was in "direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance." Iran gives hundreds of millions of dollars each year to Hezbollah, according to the State Department, and issued threats to Israel prior to its ground operation. U.S. officials are still reviewing intelligence to understand whether Iran helped plan the Hamas attack.
Reuveni described the terrain differences between Gaza and Lebanon.
"Gaza is flat. It's by the sea. Because it's such a small place, we can control everything from the air. Lebanon involves an international border that is very long. It's mountainous. Boulders and a jungle. We are trying to go between the bushes, and you cannot see the enemy even a meter from you," he said.
"It's colder," Reuveni said. "They probably have booby traps all around Lebanon, and underground cities. They are probably using hospitals like in Gaza. They are more smart in using drones and have more advanced anti-tank missiles."
Hezbollah is believed to possess over 100,000 rockets that it claims are able to hit all locations in Israel. Hezbollah gets most of its cash and weapons, which are models from Russia and China as well, through Iran, according to reports.
Reuveni explained that the IDF is "getting ready" if things escalate in Lebanon but said he "cannot explain more than that."
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"We are getting ready, whether it's equipment training, or our defense assignments," he said. "God forbid Hezbollah will try to breach the border and ride inside Israel. We will defend, and we will attack, and they know that. It's very important to know that Hezbollah lost its surprise momentum."
Reuveni added, "We are sad and angry, but we are very strong."