Israeli officials say ground attack prevented Hezbollah terror attack and admonish Biden-Harris admin for leak of raids

“We didn’t like it, the leaks were a dangerous move, they endangered the armed forces,” a senior Israeli official said

Hezbollah prepared Lebanon's border areas with Israel for an “October 7-style invasion” before the Jewish state's special forces dismantled its underground tunnel system in “targeted ground attacks,” the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday. The Biden-Harris administration anonymously teased these raids in advance, drawing criticism from a senior Israeli official.

“Hezbollah had been preparing to use these villages as bases for an October 7-style invasion … into Israeli homes,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said revealed Tuesday while Israeli forces continued to bomb Hezbollah's operations centers and weapons depots. “Hezbollah planned to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities and massacre innocent men, women and children.”

The IDF described the subsequent raids carried out by the Jewish state to prevent the attack as “limited, localized, [and] “Targeted,” with Israeli forces mobilizing to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnel system and destroy weapons depots along Lebanon’s southern border. More than 70 ground attacks were launched, Hagari said.

After the ground attack, Israel responded to the Biden-Harris administration's move leak his battle plans in advance. An unnamed US official briefed the press on Monday that Israel was organizing assets along the border. Speaking of which “Private conversations between the two governments may be discussed on condition of anonymity.” According to an Israeli official, the leak has frustrated the Jewish state.

“We didn't like it. The leaks were a dangerous move. They have endangered the armed forces,” the official said told May 11 reporter Amichai Stein on Tuesday. “This happened despite the US supporting the operation, but it is clear to us that the US is concerned – and that is why they banned the operation to limit it.”

The Biden-Harris administration has struggled in recent days to repel a large-scale Israeli ground attack, seeing it as a prelude to a massive war in the Middle East that would embroil American forces and lead to direct conflict with Hezbollah's masters in Iran would trigger. The decision to leak Israel's war plans appears to be part of a diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at complicating the Jewish state's military operations. However, Israel has shown that it is undeterred. Public gatherings in major Israeli cities, including the port city of Haifa, have been canceled as Israel prepares for more Hezbollah rocket attacks and an even larger attack by Iran in the coming hours and days.

With Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in an Israeli airstrike late last week, Israel sees an opportunity to finally defund the Iran-backed terror group.

“The elimination of Nasrallah is a very important step, but it is not the last,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday during a speech to troops stationed on the Jewish state’s northern border. “We will use all means necessary – your forces, other forces, air, sea and land.”

The raids, which targeted Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces, helped Israel gather crucial intelligence ahead of its planned ground invasion.

The main goal of the Israeli campaign is to return more than 50,000 displaced residents to their homes in the northern areas of the country.

“If you want to tell people it’s safe to come home, then it’s better to come home safe,” said Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council member and regional analyst. “Removing the tunnel infrastructure, clearing the missile stockpile and ensuring that no one ever sees a Hezbollah flag out of their window again are the only way to give people the confidence to return.”