Illustrative image. (the Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) 98th Division is being deployed to northern Israel amid heightened tensions with Hezbollah following months of operations in the Gaza Strip under the Southern Command, Hebrew media reported on September 18.
The elite paratroopers and commando division will reportedly join the 36th Division under the military’s Northern Command.
The 98th Division is made up of approximately 10,000 to 20,000 troops. It includes the 35th Paratroopers Brigade, 55th Paratroopers Brigade [reserve], 89th Commando Brigade, 551st Paratroopers Brigade [reserve], 214th Artillery Brigade, 8237th Division Logistic Brigade and the 492nd Division Signal Battalion.
Late August, the 98th Division was withdrawn from the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza after leading several major offensive operations against the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions there.
The deployment of the division on the northern front came amid fears of an all-out war with Lebanon after Israel caused thousands of Hezbollah pagers to explode in a sabotage attack on September 17, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding more than 2,800.
A recent report by Axios revealed that Israel carried out the sabotage attack out of fears that the plot was about to be uncovered by Hezbollah.
A former Israeli official told the news agency that Israel had planned to use the exploding pagers as an opening blow in an all-out war with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and its allies have been launching near-daily attacks from Lebanon against Israel in support of armed factions in Gaza since the outbreak of the war in the Strip last October. While the IDF has so far limited its response to air and artillery strikes, the latest sabotage attack and the deployment of the 98th Division on the northern front suggest that Israel is bracing to launch a major offensive against Lebanon.
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