TEHRAN- Israel appears to be preparing to carry out its long-standing threat of initiating a ground invasion of Lebanon despite a growing international outcry against the regime’s warmongering in the region.

Over the past months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to send his troops to Lebanon ostensibly to deter the Hezbollah resistance movement from launching attacks against Israel. 

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since the latter declared war on Gaza on October 7. The Lebanese resistance movement has fired rockets and missiles toward Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 

Tens of thousands of people have become displaced in northern Israel and southern Lebanon amid the exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the course of Gaza’s nearly one-year war. 

On Monday, war minister Yoav Gallant strongly hinted that the regime is ready to launch a ground offensive in Lebanon with the stated aim of removing Hezbollah from the border area and allowing evacuated Israelis to return to northern Israel. 

On Sunday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority also reported that the regime’s army is making preparations for “a “limited ground operation” in Lebanon. 

Israel’s intention to escalate its military operations in Lebanon became evident in mid-September after Netanyahu’s office announced that returning Israeli settlers to the north constitutes an official war goal.

The announcement was followed by the explosion of pagers and other communication devices in Lebanon on September 17 and 18 which killed dozens of people and injured more than 3000. 

A few days later, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign in Lebanon killing hundreds of people in the Mediterranean country. 

On Friday, Israel intensified its savage attacks and assassinated Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a suburb of southern Beirut. The strikes have been strongly condemned by many world leaders and triggered huge street protests. 

As Israel is continuing its deadly and brutal airstrikes in Lebanon, the regime’s media say the potential ground operation is aimed at establishing a “security buffer zone in southern Lebanon.”

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN has cited Foreign Minister Israel Katz as saying that Tel Aviv will only accept a ceasefire in Lebanon when Hezbollah is pushed away from the border to the north of the Litani River and disarmed.

“For as long as this does not happen, Israel will continue its actions to ensure the security of its citizens and the return of northern residents to their homes,” he added.

In fact, Israel wants to invade Lebanon but is looking for excuses. The regime claims that its airstrikes that began on September 23 have hit Hezbollah targets. But facts on the ground show that hundreds of civilians, including women and children, have fallen victim to the attacks. 

Israel’s likely ground assault on Lebanon is reminiscent of the regime’s nearly 20-year occupation of the country. 

Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982 and occupied parts of the country until it was driven out by Hezbollah in 2000.

In 2006, Israel also launched a full-scale military offensive against Lebanon. Hezbollah, however, humiliated the regime and forced it military to retreat in disgrace. 

Israel is currently displaying a lot of hubris following the assassination of the Hezbollah chief and some other commanders of the resistance group. 

If Israeli ground forces were to enter Lebanon, the arrogance of the Netanyahu regime would transform into disgrace.

Israel has not succeeded in eliminating Hamas after more than 11 months of fighting in Gaza. Hundreds of Israeli forces have been killed on the Gaza battlefield. Last month, Gallant rejected Netanyahu’s “total victory” dream over Hamas as gibberish. 

But now both Netanyahu and Gallant are dreaming about securing a triumph over Hezbollah, which possesses greater strength than Hamas.

Hamas fighters in Gaza have transformed the battlefield into the burial ground for Israeli soldiers. The regime will face a similar outcome should it initiate a ground offensive in Lebanon. In such a scenario, Israel should proactively accumulate coffins and arrange funeral ceremonies for its troops and dig their graves.