Israel’s extensive losses after the start of the ground war in southern Lebanon
reported Mehr News Agency quoted Al Jazeera, in the framework of the “support battle” from the Gaza front where the fire of war broke out on the morning of October 7, 2023, on October 8, 2023, the first Hezbollah missiles were fired towards the occupied territories.
But the support front, which initially entered the war cautiously and in the form of a controlled escalation by both sides, has turned into an almost open confrontation on the ground and in the air after a year, but At the same time, the war in it is still searching for a political perspective that does not seem to be realized soon.
The settlers in the north of the occupied territories still do not trust the ability of the army of this regime to provide security and have not been able to return to their settlements.
In a survey recently conducted by the Zionist Institute “Magar Mohut” has been done, 70% of those who have been evacuated from the northern settlements have declared that even if the war stops now, they do not want to return to their homes.
The Zionist regime entered the war with Hizbollah with a high ceiling of statements, to the extent that there was talk of destroying the military capabilities of this party and creating an uninhabited area in the north of the borders of the occupied lands. But the goals were gradually reduced to the point where Herzi Halivi, the chief of staff of this regime’s army, announced a week ago that the assassination of the party’s top commanders was enough to stop the war.
So what damages has the Zionist regime suffered from the war on the Lebanese front, which has forced it to this relative retreat?
A big failure
During a year of war, the Jalil region in the north of the occupied territories, which is of strategic and security importance, The region has become threatened and insecure, while it enjoyed relative security stability for almost two decades, especially compared to the area around Gaza in the south.
The Al-Jalil region, due to its high and mountainous location, brings the superiority of the battlefield and tactics and the possibility of creating It provides military bases and secure observation and communication centers on the peaks. They were also the place of veterans and kibbutzim that accepted Jewish immigrants from Lebanon and Syria.
But now the region of Al-Jalil has become an unsafe and uninhabited area. The cabinet of the Zionist regime was forced to evacuate around 28 settlements and all military and intelligence facilities in this area came under fire from Hezbollah, in such a way that its security reputation was severely damaged.
This issue includes the targeting of the military intelligence headquarters of the Zionist regime in Safd and the headquarters of the Golani brigade – one of the most important brigades. The elite of the Zionist regime in the north, which is known as “Brigade No. 1” – was in a precise operation that targeted the gathering of Zionist soldiers.
Furthermore, the war on the Lebanese front, which has been prolonged without achieving its goals, deepens the gap created by the Al-Aqsa storm in the military doctrine of the Zionist regime.
Since its establishment, the Zionist regime has avoided long wars and emphasized on “lightning wars” to quickly achieve goals by relying on technical and information superiority. But this superiority is now faced with serious doubts.
Also, the passive defense strategy of this regime, which was based on the trinity of safe spaces, high ability to intercept fire and the resistance of the settlers, has failed. These three pillars are now faced with challenges that have seriously shaken them.
consecutive military casualties
In one month from the beginning of the ground operation in southern Lebanon on September 30, 2024, the Zionist regime lost about 95 soldiers in the battle scene and more than 750 officers and soldiers were wounded.
Also, 38 “Merkava” tanks and four advanced Zionist drones of the “Hermes 450″ and “Hermes 900″ were shot down.
These statistics do not include losses on the home front due to continuous missile attacks, as these figures are subject to military censorship and their facts have not been revealed.
In addition, according to statistics, 12,000 military personnel have been admitted to hospitals since the beginning of the war, and 1,500 of them were wounded twice.
Despite these losses, which are very impressive compared to the past, the army has not been able to advance sufficiently in the borders and has not even been able to completely capture a village.
economic damages
Newspaper “Yediot Aharonot” report Given that the cost of expanding the war on the Lebanese front in September and October has reached about 9 billion dollars, and these huge costs will require a review of the Zionist regime’s budget.
The north of the occupied territories includes several economic and vital centers for the Zionist regime, especially the city of Haifa, which is now under attack. Hezbollah missiles are located.
Haifa is considered a very important business and energy center of gravity for this regime and the location of Haifa and its surrounding areas in the scope of military operations cause about 150 million dollars in damage per day.
A study by the Aharon institute for economic policies has shown that if the current military scenario continues on the northern front War expenses may increase by 111 billion shekels by the end of 2024, and the budget deficit will reach 6.8%, and the debt ratio will be around 71.6% at the end of 2024.
Also, the losses of the tourism sector in the north have so far reached about 3.5 billion dollars, while the region of Al-Jalil , especially Al-Jalil Alia, has high tourism importance and annually about 1.5 It attracts millions of tourists.
The evacuation of 28 northern towns until last February cost about 613 million dollars (a cost equivalent to 163 thousand dollars per day) and about 1.7 billion dollars to continue financing the evacuation of residents until July 2024 has been allocated.
Zionist Channel 14 reported that 6,000 requests have been filed for compensation for damaged houses caused by Hezbollah’s bombardment of northern settlements, which averages about 150 rockets per day. These requests have cost about 4 billion dollars for the domestic treasury so far.
The newspaper “Yediot Aharonot” wrote The fear of Hezbollah missiles has hindered the ability of northern farmers in the Jalil region to access their gardens and the resulting damages have reached about 500 million dollars.
Agricultural land with a production value of 20 million shekels ($5.4 million) is still in Al-Jalil They are at the top, but they are completely damaged due to the lack of labor which has reached about 90%.
The poultry industry has also been damaged and 24 large animal pastures have been closed for security reasons.
In a survey conducted by the company “Mind Pool” last September on 500 people who were evacuated from the north of the occupied territories, 68% said that there was no job assistance since the beginning of the war. 32% stated that they are currently unable to find a job and their job skills are disappearing, and 31% stated that they are psychologically ready to work, provided they are offered a job.
It seems that these deep damages, some of which will have long-term effects, have had clear effects on the political view of the Zionist regime regarding the achievable goals in the northern front.
After rejecting any understanding based on Resolution 1701 and declaring its ineffectiveness, now the Zionist regime has returned to accepting the same resolution, which shows a decrease in expectations.
Although the Zionist regime has deliberately kept the objectives of the ground operations in a halo of ambiguity, a month-long large-scale operation involving five divisions of the regime’s army does not seem that the limited achievements they have had so far meet the expectations.