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Israel officers warn ground forces unprepared for war: Israeli media

July 26, 2022 at 4:42 pm

Israeli soldiers are positioned along the border with Lebanon on April 25, 2022 [JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) officers warned that the Ground Forces are “ill-prepared” for a war, local media, Israel Hayom, reports.

According to the report, since the July 2006 war on Lebanon, the IOF “has made a calculated choice to reduce the deployment of its Ground Forces, favouring the Israeli Air Force instead, mostly with the aim of minimising casualties.”

The newspaper indicated that, when IOF Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, took office in 2019, “he set out to improve the Ground Forces’ operational capabilities, but with only a few months left on his term, senior officers warn that, despite his best intentions, the reality on the ground is far different from the vision he introduced.”

Senior IOF officers argued that ground manoeuvres must always be the last resort, stressing that the next war with Lebanon requires such deployment to ensure the IOF “has the upper hand, the report also said.

As the tension between Iran and Israel continues to grow and, with the nuclear deal between Tehran and the West, the IOF sees the necessity to grow its capacity.

Last week, IOF chief, Aviv Kochavi, stressed that preparing a military option against the Iranian nuclear program is a moral necessity for the Israel army.

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