In preparation for potential combat, IDF soldiers from the 188th Brigade have been conducting training exercises near the northern border and at command headquarters, according to Israel National News reports. Additionally, community defense units have been running drills to address various scenarios and access preparedness for a ground invasion in the potentially immediate future.
Recently, the Washington Post reported that the U.S. government has been informed of Israel's intention to initiate a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon soon. An American official indicated that this operation would be smaller in scale compared to Israel's actions during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which followed a deadly cross-border raid by Hezbollah that resulted in the deaths and abductions of multiple IDF soldiers.
The aim of this upcoming operation is to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon and restore security to northern Israel, where over 60,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes in the past year due to more than 8,000 rockets fired by Hezbollah since the October 7 attacks.