Despite Iran’s deadly overnight ballistic missile attack on Israel, which killed two Israelis and wounded many others, the IDF said on Wednesday that it had succeeded in reducing Hezbollah’s ability to stage its planned larger-scale rocket assault.
On Tuesday afternoon, the military issued an unusual countrywide warning that intelligence indicated that Hezbollah would try to hit Israel with an escalated rocket assault.
In contrast to March 11, when Hezbollah managed to fire over 200 rockets at Israel in an escalated assault (its standard rocket fire per day during the current conflict has been around 100) and caught much of the North, as well as the rest of the country, off-guard, the IDF’s efforts on Tuesday to Wednesday night set back the Lebanese terror group, resulting in it only managing to fire around 40 rockets.
In addition, the military said that most of Hezbollah’s rockets were currently falling short in Lebanon.
The Iran-affiliated terror group’s rockets did not arrive at the center of the country, though they did make it into both the northern border towns and Lower Galilee.
Additionally, in contrast to March 11, when the IDF only managed to destroy one rocket launcher overnight prior to its firing, the IDF was able to destroy around 10 Hezbollah launchers prior to their firing.
IDF warns Hezbollah adapting tactics in effort to increase rocket fire
Nevertheless, the military said, its modest success between Tuesday and Wednesday in no way guarantees success in the future.
The military warned that Hezbollah – even beyond the past 24 hours – is making efforts to increase its daily rocket fire from around 100 to 150 rockets.
The organization has adjusted to IDF tactics by decentralizing its rocket crews into even smaller teams. If before a single larger rocket crew might have been responsible for firing 30 rockets from one launcher, many such launchers have now been broken up among smaller crews, firing only five rockets per cell.
The idea is that if the military strikes a cell, it will only neutralize five rockets as opposed to destroying 30, as it often managed to do in the fall of 2024.
Further, Hezbollah has adjusted by moving many of its rockets into Lebanese areas north of the Litani River, firing at Israel often from a distance of 40-43 km, making it harder for Israel to attack them beforehand.
The flip side of these new Hezbollah tactics is that more of its rockets are falling short, and it is harder for the terror group to launch large salvos of rockets in a coordinated fashion.
Further, the IDF has said that its newer pushes deeper into southern Lebanon have managed to destroy more Hezbollah weapons and kill more terrorists, with the number jumping from 300 killed during the current conflict to around 500.
Moreover, the military overnight began to strike Tyre in expanded efforts to remove Hezbollah from central areas it could try to use for organizing its various military moves.
Finally, the IDF said it was prepared for a longer campaign in Lebanon than might originally have been expected.
IDF strikes Hezbollah-controlled gas stations in southern Lebanon
Later on Wednesday, the military confirmed that it struck Hezbollah-controlled gas stations across southern Lebanon belonging to the Al-Amana fuel company overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The fuel company is controlled by the terror group and “constitutes fundamental economic infrastructure that supports Hezbollah’s military capabilities,” according to the IDF.
The funds received by the company are funnelled through Hezbollah’s accounts with the Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association, the military stated.
Al-Amana was sanctioned by the US in 2020 due to its ties to the terror group, the IDF stated.
Moreover, the IDF overnight started to strike Tyre in expanded efforts to remove Hezbollah from central areas it would try to use for organizing its various military moves.
Finally, the IDF said it is prepared for a longer campaign in Lebanon than might have been originally expected.
Later on Wednesday, the military confirmed that it struck Hezbollah-controlled gas stations across southern Lebanon, belonging to the Al-Amana Fuel Company, during the overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
James Genn contributed to this report.