Colonel S, director of the Target Bank in the Israeli army, revealed the details of a large military operation that was planned to be carried out against Hezbollah in Lebanon a few days after the October 7, 2023 attack, considering that it was capable of “changing the history of the Middle East” if it had been implemented as planned.
In a rare interview with the Maariv newspaper, the Israeli officer spoke about the failures that accompanied the first hours of the October 7 attack, noting that his unit did not have ready-made targets that could be targeted immediately to stop the attack inside Israeli territory, which led to great confusion in the first hours of the battle.
He explained that the Israeli army activated the “Sword of Damocles” plan at the time and targeted the headquarters, tunnels, and homes of Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. However, according to him, these strikes did not succeed in stopping the attack or limiting its progress.
But the most prominent event, according to his account, occurred only four days later, when the military establishment pushed for a massive air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, as Israeli intelligence estimates indicated the presence of a large number of Hezbollah leaders in specific locations.
Colonel S said that the warplanes had already taken off and were on their way towards their targets, before the political level issued a decision to cancel the operation at the last minute and return the planes to their bases.
He added: “I had no doubt that we would have eliminated the entire senior leadership of Hezbollah with one blow. That night was a historic turning point, and if the attack had been carried out, the entire war would have been different.”
He considered that the decision to cancel the operation represented a missed opportunity for the Israeli military establishment, noting that the results of the subsequent confrontation might have been significantly different if the strike had been carried out as planned.
In the context of his speech, the Israeli officer touched on the current situation after the recent regional understandings, considering that the arrangements that followed the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran imposed restrictions on the freedom of Israeli military movement in Lebanon, especially with regard to targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut.
He revealed that the “Targets Bank” still maintains detailed plans related to locations within the suburb, stressing that the Israeli army continues to update its information bank pending any future political decision.
At the same time, the Israeli colonel admitted that talk of destroying the entire suburb was unrealistic from a military standpoint, saying that the size of the area and the density of buildings and facilities in it made such a scenario practically impossible, even using huge amounts of munitions.
These statements come at a time when controversy continues within Israel regarding the decisions taken by the political and military leadership during the first months of the war, amid growing criticism related to the management of the battle and the opportunities that some former officials believe were wasted during critical stages of the conflict.
The interview also reflects the continuing debate within the Israeli security establishment about the nature of the confrontation with Hezbollah, and the estimates related to its military capabilities and the infrastructure that it has established over the years, which has turned into one of the most prominent challenges that Israel faced during the recent war.
