Report: Israeli Army Lacks Readiness in Military Standoff with Hizbullah
The military readiness of the Israeli army to engage in a war with Hizbullah has distinctly decreased, the Israeli right-wing newspaper Maariv said in a report.
According to statements by high-ranking Israeli army officers, the Jewish state cannot engage in a war with Hizbullah anytime soon.
The officers expressed concern over the decline in military equipment, malfunction and obstructions impeding their involvement in any upcoming military action.
The officers said that the level of competence and efficiency had declined as military exercisers have been lessened, the newspaper said in its field report.
Israeli soldiers complained that the Humvees used in patrols along the Lebanese border are non-armored and lack protection.
They pointed out that authorities have been stepping-down expenses on the army.
“That is the situation... We will be victorious with the current capabilities,” soldiers quoted a brigade commander as saying.
The soldiers expressed fear that the military's capabilities are similar to those in 2006 and worse.
Israel fought a devastating 33-day war against Hizbullah in 2006 that cost the lives of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
In March, the Jerusalem Post daily quoted a high-ranking Israeli army official as saying that only a full-scale Israeli ground offensive will defeat Hizbullah in the event of another war similar to the 2006 conflict between them.
“The enemy is growing powerful” in its ability to rain down rockets and missiles on the Israeli home front, the official said, but it remains challenged by the army’s ability to launch a ground offensive.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/128320 |