Ground warfare imminent

Even though only a quarter of the Israeli public supports it, it looks like Israel will definitely put more troops on the ground in Lebanon. There have already been some ground clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, and the IDF has crossed the border to fight the militants. Thousands of IDF soldiers are said to be in Lebanese territory.

[The leader of the Northern Command] refused to disclose details on the number of ground forces operating in southern Lebanon. According to [him], the operation includes "many" soldiers, but is not a "massive" incursion.

So is Israel on the path to reoccupying Lebanon? It's highly unlikely. As our guest blogger Gideon Lichfield pointed out earlier, force is often the only common language between Israel and its neighbors. With Condi ruling out a cease fire, no one should be surprised to see Israel taking every opportunity to rid its northern border of Hezbollah and show its neighbors (especially Syria) that it's the country most fluent in the language of force. More from Haaretz:

In the upcoming days, the IDF plans to expand ground operations in southern Lebanon ... Still, General Staff officers maintain that there is no intention to take and hold ground permanently, and insist that the operations will be clearing raids.