Israel Claims Hezbollah Planned Its Own 'Oct. 7-Style' Attack
The group allegedly wanted 'to do in northern Israel what Hamas did in southern Israel'
Israel says its ongoing military operations in Lebanon have disrupted a plan by Hezbollah to launch an "Oct. 7-style invasion" and slaughter civilians living in northern Israeli communities.
In a video posted Tuesday on social media, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said newly declassified materials seized from Hezbollah compounds revealed the blueprint for an operation called "Conquer the Galilee."
"For years, Hezbollah has been planning to do in northern Israel what Hamas did in southern Israel on Oct. 7: invade Israel, infiltrate civilian communities and massacre innocent civilians," Hagari said.
During the 11-minute presentation, Hagari held up what he said was a Hezbollah map planned to distribute to its fighters, with a key identifiying various targets for attack.
The video also included clips that Hagari said showed caches of weapons and elaborate underground tunnels that were later destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
"Our precise operations against Hezbollah throughout the war have degraded Hezbollah's ability to carry out an Oct. 7-style invasion along our northern border," he said.
The video was released after Israel reportedly told the U.S. that it had conducted ground raids into Lebanon ahead of a planned "limited" invasion.
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