Reduced Forces and Complacency Identified as Weak Points Behind Border Breach from Lebanon

In the video: Fighters of Brigade 300 detained a terrorist from Hezbollah's Radwan Force in southern Lebanon / IDF Spokesperson

Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo and Galilee Division commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Gaz continued to investigate yesterday's, Tuesday, midday incursion by a terrorist from Lebanon into Israeli territory. According to the investigation, the terrorist, whose organizational affiliation has not yet been definitively confirmed, it is not clear whether he was from Hezbollah or a Palestinian terrorist organization, was wearing military uniforms and was armed with a pistol and a knife. After managing to cross the 'Blue Line', the imaginary international border line between the countries, the security fence, and the access road, and reaching within one kilometer of Moshav Margaliot, opposite the orchard fence, the terrorist set a fire at the scene. Military sources assessed that he may have lit the fire in order to lure an IDF force to the location and open fire on them with the intent to kill soldiers. A logistics soldier happened to arrive at the scene by chance, alerted military forces that came to the location, and the terrorist opened fire at them from an unoccupied military position. The force returned fire and killed him. It is still unclear how he managed to deceive the female observers who monitor the border line, despite the fact that he came from an area where visual surveillance is highly challenging.

According to officers in Northern Command, two weak points intersected at the moment of the breach. The first involves concerns about attacks by suicide drones using fiber optics against the forces. "Ask yourself how many times trackers see the fence during the day. Who conducts border sweeps every day?" said a military source. As a result, IDF troop movement in the area is reduced to a minimum. The second point is complacency. According to the officers, the very fact that entire divisions operate in the enclosed area between the border line and the yellow line, and beyond it, creates complacency among commanders on the border, who see the large force presence as a kind of "security belt" against terrorists reaching the area. The officers claim that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir will not be able to avoid a harsh response in the conclusion of the inquiry. "If someone was thrown in prison over a Messiah patch, in this case there must be a clear statement at the end of the investigation." According to the officers, Galilee Division commander is expected to present the inquiry to the chief of staff within the next day.