In this episode, Richard Pater speaks with Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi about the threat from Hezbollah on Israel\u2019s northern border. Speaking from the Galilee amid ongoing rocket and drone fire, Sarit assesses Hezbollah\u2019s current capabilities, the IDF\u2019s response across Lebanon including Beirut, and the risks of escalation due to Iranian influence.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi is the founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, with 15 years of experience as an IDF intelligence officer focused on Israel\u2019s northern front.<\/p>\n
Transcript<\/p>\n
(This transcript has been automatically generated by AI \u2014 please excuse any potential errors.)<\/p>\n
00:00:06:22 \u2013 00:00:26:13<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
Hello and welcome to the latest BICOM podcast. I\u2019m Richard Peter, the Director of BICOM. And today is the 5th of March. And this episode we\u2019re going to focus on the threat from the North, from Hezbollah. Our guest is one of the leading experts, Lieutenant Colonel in reserves, Sarit Zehavi, who has been on the podcast, I think, 2 or 3 times before.<\/p>\n
00:00:26:15 \u2013 00:00:52:20<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
She is the founder and president of Alma, which is an excellent independent research organization focusing on Israel security challenges on the northern border. Before setting up alma, Sarit was, an IDF intelligence officer, also focusing on the North. And for full disclosure, I was privileged enough first to meet Sarit when she was still serving in uniform. So that was, I think, maybe even over a decade ago.<\/p>\n
00:00:52:20 \u2013 00:00:57:17<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
So, it\u2019s great to, to have you back on the podcast. Thank you very much for joining us.<\/p>\n
00:00:57:19 \u2013 00:00:59:08<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Thank you for having me.<\/p>\n
00:00:59:10 \u2013 00:01:09:12<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
So perhaps we can start with a slightly personal question, or you can tell us about what it\u2019s like living in the Galilee, living in northern, in northern Israel, what it\u2019s been like over the last few days.<\/p>\n
00:01:09:14 \u2013 00:01:43:05<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Actually. I mean, as we speak now, there is a lot of noise outside. We hear jets, helicopters and blasts, and we pretty much hear the fighting in Lebanon. The past few days were very intense, except for the past 24 hours, which is different than I will explain. Because when I launched towards the Galilee, more than 40 attacks in 20, in 24 hours, and in the next 24 hours, more than 25 attacks.<\/p>\n
00:01:43:07 \u2013 00:02:10:00<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lot of attacks. It means around the clock constant fire of either rockets or drones. Specifically, in my community, we are kind of in between, since I\u2019m nine kilometres from the border. So, it\u2019s in between the area that is constantly bombed, by his borough and the area that is constantly bombed by Iran. So, within the past 24 hours, we didn\u2019t have sirens here.<\/p>\n
00:02:10:02 \u2013 00:02:38:15<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very confusing when we do have the sirens, because we have five minutes to get to the bomb shelter. If it\u2019s from Iran and we have 15 seconds to get to the bomb shelters, if it\u2019s face back, and we had a few barrages that were simultaneously from both places. And when this happens, you know, you need to understand who is shooting at you, how fast you need to get there, what you have to do exactly, and sometimes it\u2019s a little bit complicated with the family and all that.<\/p>\n
00:02:38:17 \u2013 00:02:45:24<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
I was going to ask you about that. I mean how much do you think there is coordination between Hezbollah and Iran.<\/p>\n
00:02:46:01 \u2013 00:03:13:19<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And we\u2019ve seen with those attacks. So yeah, we\u2019ve seen examples of coordination. There is coordination. But I can\u2019t say that this is right for all attacks or not even the majority of the attacks. I think the coordination is more strategic then tactical, even though we\u2019ve seen tactical coordination like the very reason that I joined this is because of the Iranian pressure and the loyalty of Chris.<\/p>\n
00:03:13:20 \u2013 00:03:16:11<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
But actually, on.<\/p>\n
00:03:16:13 \u2013 00:03:29:10<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And in terms of kind of absorbing or the defense approach, is there a what\u2019s the distinction between the missiles, the Hezbollah firing and the and the drones? These are these are also kind of explosive drones that they\u2019re sending.<\/p>\n
00:03:29:12 \u2013 00:03:52:06<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Yes, they are. The drones are still explosive drones. It is clear, they are using mostly three types of drones within. We don\u2019t know which of them is being launched in the in the current campaign, but they have three types that they used, in the past, and, and using now in the videos that they publish of the drones.<\/p>\n
00:03:52:08 \u2013 00:04:16:18<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Those drones can get up to 900km up to, as I\u2019ve said, the majority, where either intercepted or just, you know, we don\u2019t always know how it ends, but they it didn\u2019t reach to those, distances. They can carry up to 40 kilos, but I\u2019m not sure they do. They probably carry less much less than that.<\/p>\n
00:04:16:20 \u2013 00:04:47:01<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
As for the rockets, these are rockets that were launched. Most of the rockets were launched to the north, meaning in a distance of up to, I don\u2019t know, 30km, from Lebanon, but also launched rockets to Tel Aviv. In the current campaign, it happened. Fortunately, I must say that we ended up in the northern front with very little damages and no casualties except for IDF soldiers that were attacked by trees.<\/p>\n
00:04:47:01 \u2013 00:05:25:06<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
But in South Lebanon. And I want to explain here something IDF enforced force the amount of soldiers in Lebanon to create a buffer zone, between the terrorists and the Israelis that are living next to the border. And Hezbollah attacked, those forces with anti-tank missiles, and soldiers were wounded. This means that his. But I am shooting, either the rockets, the drones and the anti-tank missiles from areas also, south of the Brittany River in areas that were supposed to be empty of any military presence.<\/p>\n
00:05:25:08 \u2013 00:05:38:10<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
So, I mean, again, you\u2019re prompting my next my next question. But what\u2019s the capacity that Hezbollah maintains south of the Litani River in southern in southern Lebanon? The up to this week.<\/p>\n
00:05:38:12 \u2013 00:06:11:24<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Look, I\u2019ll put it this way. We don\u2019t have specific numbers, but we can conclude from other pieces of the information, meaning that we know that when this war started, his barrel was holding 25,000 rockets to various ranges. While those the medium range, those who can get to 40km, things like that. I\u2019ll store also in South Lebanon, not only those who have a more sophisticated, more long grain ranges.<\/p>\n
00:06:12:01 \u2013 00:06:37:12<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Usually not always usually are stored elsewhere, including in Beirut. But again, not always. We have seen also, weapons that were found by the Lebanese army, actually, that were more advanced. And they were found south of Guinea. Tiny. We know that the IDF didn\u2019t enter to the heart of the area of Hezbollah, south of the Litani River.<\/p>\n
00:06:37:13 \u2013 00:07:02:13<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
We only maneuverer last time in the areas which are very close to the border of a few kilometres, from the border line. And we know that Lebanese forces also refused to enter to the villages in those areas. And Hezbollah was hiding its weapons inside those villages. So clearly, there should be thousands of rockets that are still stored in villages in south of the returning river.<\/p>\n
00:07:02:15 \u2013 00:07:21:19<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And do you anticipate that they will be targeted by the air, or do you think there\u2019s a possibility that the IDF will? I mean, you understand the concept right now of kind of active defence, defending the the civilians in the north. But that is the buffer zone. Do you think they\u2019re likely to go on kind of active manoeuvres, or can they be destroyed from the sky?<\/p>\n
00:07:21:21 \u2013 00:07:44:17<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, with regard to the airstrikes, we are definitely in an offensive. And more than 300 targets were attacked all across Lebanon since Hezbollah opened this campaign against us. And with regard to ground forces, other options on the table, and it is an option that we will have to manoeuvre further to, the areas which are literally at the border.<\/p>\n
00:07:44:19 \u2013 00:07:53:03<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And what can you tell us about the strikes so far in, in the area, in the kind of the Hezbollah stronghold within, within Beirut.<\/p>\n
00:07:53:05 \u2013 00:08:17:05<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, in the past two hours, we have seen warnings of the IDF spokes of face. And I\u2019m looking at my phone whether there were already attacks in the area in the past hour. But we have seen warnings to evacuate almost all of the area, which the last time this happened, it was in the war. This is very interesting.<\/p>\n
00:08:17:07 \u2013 00:08:39:20<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Before this, warning, the Lebanese reported that they already have about 300,000 people that we call them to evacuate, and that you listen to us in the areas of south Lebanon. But when all of that started, actually, Israel published an announcement to the Lebanese saying, you should get out of any area that these next two Hezbollah infrastructures because we are going to bomb that.<\/p>\n
00:08:39:22 \u2013 00:09:03:01<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And then after this general warning, we published more specific warnings. There was South Lebanon and specific warnings towards specific buildings in the dark, etc. and now we ask them to completely evacuate. We are doing that in order to avoid collateral damage as much as much as possible, since Chris Bella is hiding his weapons inside those houses or under those houses.<\/p>\n
00:09:03:03 \u2013 00:09:33:24<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And we are doing that, hoping that this time the IDF will finish the job. This is very important because it didn\u2019t happen, unfortunately. You know, even for myself to see the amount of strikes now, after a year and a half that we had an average of twice a day strikes by the IDF in Lebanon, we all ask ourselves, okay, so she\u2019s but I was wow, fully deployed in so many places in Lebanon with huge amount of weapons and we still have to attack so many places like the least.<\/p>\n
00:09:33:24 \u2013 00:09:40:15<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
The list of targets is that long. The Lebanese were actually doing nothing to this army.<\/p>\n
00:09:40:17 \u2013 00:09:46:20<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
What can you tell us about the latest, position posture of the Lebanese government with regard to Hezbollah?<\/p>\n
00:09:46:22 \u2013 00:10:11:20<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lot of words that people are very much impressed by and very little deeds. The first actual action that I saw was today, when the Lebanese government published that it, it\u2019s banning any activity of the IRGC in Lebanon, and it is not enabling Iranians to get into Lebanon without a special visa, meaning they are going to confirm each and every one of them.<\/p>\n
00:10:11:22 \u2013 00:10:33:18<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
If this actually, if they will actually act according that this is a progress. This is very good sign. Other than that, no. Absalom said that he\u2019s not going to enable any military action of Hezbollah in Lebanon is going to ban that. These awards for me, like they\u2019ve said that so many times in different ways.<\/p>\n
00:10:33:18 \u2013 00:10:41:11<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And everybody wearing pressed, but actually on the ground, nothing happened. So, we\u2019ll have to wait and see if this time it will be different.<\/p>\n
00:10:41:13 \u2013 00:11:01:14<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
There were reports, I\u2019m thinking, over the last week or two before this conflict, erupted about IRGC officers being sent to take over from their Lebanese counterparts in order to prepare Hezbollah and encourage them to attack. Are you familiar with that? Is that actually does that sound accurate and kind of what\u2019s the level of influence?<\/p>\n
00:11:01:14 \u2013 00:11:08:14<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
It\u2019s okay that they might be stopping future Iranian agents coming in, but how many of them are already on the ground and the significance of their output?<\/p>\n
00:11:08:19 \u2013 00:11:38:10<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll say two things around it. First, a good indication to answer your question is the fact that Israel killed the chief of the Lebanese core, in the IRGC in Beirut, and his commander was killed in Tehran pretty much at the same day. Okay, that\u2019s one thing. Second. Yes, we do know that since the cease fire, Iran is deeply involved in the rehabilitation process of.<\/p>\n
00:11:38:10 \u2013 00:12:01:19<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Chris. We saw the flights of Larijani energy into Lebanon, to make sure that name crossed is going on the right track. Best example is the visit of our country to Lebanon on January 8 or 9, during the protest in Iran. He it was very important for him to land in Lebanon to make sure that Hezbollah is there for Iran.<\/p>\n
00:12:01:21 \u2013 00:12:22:12<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, we were not surprised that he\u2019s been I got involved, actually, were surprised that he took it like more than 24 hours. But I believe that it took it a little bit of time because they waited for the strict orders from Tehran. And there was a lot of confusion in Tehran after the opening strike. So, this is how I how I understand the reality now.<\/p>\n
00:12:22:14 \u2013 00:12:43:10<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And just in terms of you said before about the Lebanese, government kind of coming out with the right words but very little action, how would you assess overall the lift the Lebanese Armed Forces in their conduct? I mean, they\u2019ve also put out some kind of high, high, minded words about how they\u2019re cutting off the, the armament of Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
00:12:43:12 \u2013 00:12:47:14<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
How much is that kind of just words or, or their actions by that.<\/p>\n
00:12:47:16 \u2013 00:13:16:15<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Amazing PR campaign? I appreciate the PR campaign. We gathered all the evidence that they published, and in total, it says seven locations. Okay, one tunnel, one storage, one launch or whatever. In general, it\u2019s seven locations. They reported on, I don\u2019t know, 10,000 rockets, but they didn\u2019t show, pictures of 10,000 rockets fired. Far from that. So, I think it\u2019s just PR.<\/p>\n
00:13:16:17 \u2013 00:13:41:01<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t see any systematic disarmament of Hezbollah, and I definitely didn\u2019t see any systematic disarmament of the. But inside the Muslim Shiite towns of south Lebanon, where it is hiding these weapons. Until now, as I\u2019ve said, they entered into a civilian area only after a lot of pressure by Israel and America and also other coordination with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
00:13:41:03 \u2013 00:14:04:08<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
We know who the officer is. It\u2019s all coordinated with his. But we published their names and they were not fired. We know that the advisor of the Lebanese president, to the reconstruction of Lebanon is actually a priest, but a member. So, as I\u2019ve said, a lot of words, little deeds. We\u2019ll see how this will play out.<\/p>\n
00:14:04:08 \u2013 00:14:24:15<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And a half of the Lebanese Armed Forces are probably Muslim Shiites, that this is the natural base of Hezbollah in Lebanon. And in order to change that, what Lebanon needs to take from these. But I it is the civilian services that are provided to its own base. And until today this didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
00:14:24:17 \u2013 00:14:40:19<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And beyond the Shiite community in Lebanon, have you how would you gauge kind of Lebanese public opinion in terms of support, support for Hezbollah or kind of concern over the role, the outsized role that Iran is trying to influence Lebanese society.<\/p>\n
00:14:40:21 \u2013 00:15:07:14<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, there is no Lebanese public opinion. There are different sects, in the Lebanese public opinion and the majority of the Shiites, as I\u2019ve said, still support. But and in other sects, it\u2019s exactly the opposite picture. The majority do not support Hezbollah among the Christians and Muslims, Sunnis, and the Druze. A harsh criticism against Hezbollah is being heard in Lebanon for many years.<\/p>\n
00:15:07:14 \u2013 00:15:21:10<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Like nothing is new about that. The only question is how weak we are going to make Hezbollah to enable all the others to win against it. If there ever will be willing to clash with it. Until now, they did.<\/p>\n
00:15:21:12 \u2013 00:15:47:14<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
So again. You\u2019re prompting my next question quite conveniently. But what the kind of as opposed to kind of the war that we saw in 2024 and kind of the ongoing attrition that Israel has been allowed to act under the under the guise of the ceasefire agreement. What should we be looking at this time to really change the game and kind of deliver a kind of a crucial victory that will last longer than it\u2019s we\u2019ve seen so far.<\/p>\n
00:15:47:16 \u2013 00:16:19:15<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, I would say it\u2019s a combination of three things. The first one is what will happen with Iran. And no doubt that if the Islamic Republic falls, it will have positive effect on Lebanon and will pose much more difficulties to Hezbollah. And the opposite, if it will not fall, it will be a catalyst for the empowerment, of course, behind the second is how much time do we have as Israelis, in this window of opportunity to strategically weaken?<\/p>\n
00:16:19:17 \u2013 00:16:50:06<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
But, and finish its military capabilities as much as possible. There isn\u2019t a 100%, but as much as possible. And the third component is the Lebanese government, which I\u2019m saying this again and again and again. Israeli attacks, a collapse of the regime. None of this is going to be enough. If the Lebanese government will enable but to survive, if it was not designated as a terrorist group, like, by the way, the UK had done a few years like almost a decade ago.<\/p>\n
00:16:50:08 \u2013 00:17:04:07<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
It will not happen if it is very still a legitimate entity in Lebanon that can raise generations of children over hate and that, and that way can mobilize them to become terrorists.<\/p>\n
00:17:04:09 \u2013 00:17:16:05<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
What can you tell us about, Hamas and other Palestinian groups that also still operate in some of the, the camps within southern Lebanon? How much of the power of a threat they, they pose to.<\/p>\n
00:17:16:07 \u2013 00:17:44:00<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Yes, there are Hamas, Jemaah Islamiyah, which is another branch that is working under Hamas. Islamic, the one, a senior Islamic Jihad. There are different small Palestinian groups that are operating in Lebanon and sometimes, Sunni, Lebanese groups that are operating under the Palestinian groups in Lebanon, that are not Hezbollah but collaborating with Hizbollah.<\/p>\n
00:17:44:02 \u2013 00:18:05:20<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
They are not as dangerous as trees. But, but definitely they pose a threat. And, when IDF is neutralizing threats, it is acting against those as well. They operated against us during the war. Fanon\u2019s words. And I would not be surprised if we will be there. We will see them interfering in the current campaign as well.<\/p>\n
00:18:05:22 \u2013 00:18:27:03<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And although we discussed at the beginning the buffer zone that the IDF has placed in southern Lebanon, there is still residual concerns. The Radwan Hezbollah commandos could still try some form of audacious attack inside Israel. How do you assess that threat. How concerned are you as a resident in the North?<\/p>\n
00:18:27:05 \u2013 00:18:57:10<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Look, the Radwan brigades can no longer launch an invasion. They are not prepared for an invasion as they used to be in October 2023. They are not put, deployed in thousands on the border line itself as they used to be in October 2023. So, but a scenario of a few of them, a squad trying to launch an infiltration or to attack civilians or to attack IDF soldiers, and if they are not there, civilians will be attacked.<\/p>\n
00:18:57:12 \u2013 00:19:22:06<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
This is definitely a viable option. And the level of success is dependent on our intelligence and our operational readiness to stop them. It\u2019s as simple as that. The terrain itself is very challenging because the communities, the Israeli communities are meters away from defence. And the fact that the terrain is not flat like in the south, it\u2019s all hills and valleys and a lot of places to hide.<\/p>\n
00:19:22:08 \u2013 00:19:35:00<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not easy to defend it. And that\u2019s why the IDF had to send that much of a power to the border line, to be capable of tracing those movements of the Radwan brigades.<\/p>\n
00:19:35:02 \u2013 00:20:02:18<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
And if we just pivot across to the Syrian border, I mean, two questions. One, how much are you concerned over the ongoing attempts of Hezbollah to, for the smuggling routes to get weapons into Lebanon and the idea of kind of despite kind of the animosity between, the Syrian, the new Syrian government and Hezbollah, also the threat of, of some, some form of, terror crossing over the land on the Golan.<\/p>\n
00:20:02:20 \u2013 00:20:29:01<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Okay. I thought you\u2019re okay. I said a few things about Syria. First, the border with Syria and Lebanon is not sealed and it\u2019s not closed. It\u2019s 400km with no barrier. The only limitations are limitations dictated again by the mountains and valleys, terrain and snow, sometimes in the higher up areas. Not easy terrain, not easy to cross, but actually no barriers.<\/p>\n
00:20:29:01 \u2013 00:21:00:14<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
So, we believe there are about 100 areas where you can actually cross. And the Syrian government, we\u2019ve seen this on a weekly basis, is seizing weapons that van is trying to, transfer into Lebanon and fail. But, you know, imagine how much they are not seizing because nobody knows. Okay. So that\u2019s one thing. Second, I would like to say that, yes, Iran is like Syria is no longer part of the Muslim Shiite axis.<\/p>\n
00:21:00:14 \u2013 00:21:32:06<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
This is clear to everybody. The new government of Syria do not support any hegemonic Iranian hegemony or influence in their country, but they did not completely disappear. And they were trying to do a stronghold strongly. Some of their assets in Syria, especially in the south, there are still small militias or small cells, I would say, that are loyal to, to Iran, that are getting money from Iran, not Hezbollah itself, necessarily.<\/p>\n
00:21:32:08 \u2013 00:22:02:19<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Again, it\u2019s not the elite unit of Radwan. It\u2019s not the number of Hamas. Until now, Syria was comparing to oil from since October 7th was the less active. It was not completely active, but the less active front among all others. Army decides not interested in an escalation. And you know, I\u2019m very careful from giving any compliments because this is a subject for another webinar of what he really wants.<\/p>\n
00:22:02:21 \u2013 00:22:38:09<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
But definitely at this timing, I think that he\u2019s not interested in any business with Israel. And we are flying freely above Syria. That\u2019s the truth. Like Ahmed, the channel wants sorry to preserve, the American support to Syria and to arms support to Syria. The last note I want to say about Syria is that there were, publications about a fierce on Kherson inside his banner that they attacked him with a shot and his jihadi forces.<\/p>\n
00:22:38:09 \u2013 00:23:01:20<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Will they revenge Hezbollah for what they had done to them during this civil war? So, you know, the Middle East is full of surprises. It\u2019s an option, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s it\u2019s a probable scenario because not because they don\u2019t want to do it, but because they are busier in rebuilding Syria and they have other businesses.<\/p>\n
00:23:01:20 \u2013 00:23:19:08<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And if Israel can do it, why do we do they have to do it? So, I\u2019m saying that very carefully. It\u2019s the less probable scenario, but it\u2019s out there. And this is one of the fears of Hezbollah itself, or the sources of pressure on his when I itself.<\/p>\n
00:23:19:10 \u2013 00:23:46:14<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
Just back to Hezbollah in Lebanon, we met, you mentioned Naim Kassam, the new, the new leader of Hezbollah. There has been sort of rumours in Israeli media of where is he right now if he\u2019s hiding in Lebanon, if he\u2019s hiding in, in, in Iran, I mean, you don\u2019t know where he is. And if you did, you probably wouldn\u2019t be telling the, the Biocon podcast, but I I\u2019ve got a different question of kind of just how important is he as a, as a figure if he was to be targeted?<\/p>\n
00:23:46:14 \u2013 00:24:01:20<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
Will they just kind of go down the ranks and kind of and fill that, fill that spot again? Or is he kind of is he building himself as a leader? Not to the same level, obviously, as Nasrallah, but kind of that has some form of kind of status within, within Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
00:24:01:22 \u2013 00:24:27:07<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And name Kassem is experiencing and has been I in general is experiencing the leadership crisis in Israel killed most of the leadership, whether it\u2019s the military leadership or the political leadership, not all of them. There are a few more that were left a Naim Kassem is not the most charismatic person. He was the spokesperson. And actually, I was surprised that he was nominated because he was a very grey figure.<\/p>\n
00:24:27:09 \u2013 00:24:53:07<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Everybody remember his first speech when he was sweating. And he was he looked totally in panic and afraid he got better. Since then. He, you know, he learned a little bit. He practiced; there are different forces inside his. But I did want to I wouldn\u2019t say control because eventually name Kassam is a religious figure. And the other guys, not considered religious figures, which is?<\/p>\n
00:24:53:09 \u2013 00:25:20:12<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll fix that. Me and Muhammad. Right. Which we didn\u2019t. There were rumours that he was killed by Israel, but we didn\u2019t get any confirmation for that. So, we don\u2019t know. In any case, there is crisis in leadership and a lot of, problems also to trace commanders that can lead this organization after we\u2019ve killed so many of them and wounded so many of them.<\/p>\n
00:25:20:14 \u2013 00:25:39:08<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
I think that Israel is continuing to hand them, and I hope we will succeed in handing them custom as well. Everybody you know can find a replacement. But when you kill so many people who are replacing so many people so differently, it creates a crisis in the organization. It is right for the IRGC and for the Iranian leadership.<\/p>\n
00:25:39:08 \u2013 00:25:42:17<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And it is different for Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
00:25:42:19 \u2013 00:25:49:13<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
Right. I think that\u2019s all my questions. If there\u2019s anything that I haven\u2019t asked that you want to add in terms of the, the Lebanese theatre.<\/p>\n
00:25:49:15 \u2013 00:26:16:01<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
I want to add two points. One is that, even though we with everything I\u2019ve just said about the crisis in leadership, eventually there is never a vacuum and into the vacuum of leadership or the alleged vacuum of leadership first, first and foremost, enter the Iranians and they make sure that Hezbollah will continue to function. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s so crucial to neutralize this involvement of the Iranians.<\/p>\n
00:26:16:01 \u2013 00:26:34:14<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
And you saw everything that was happening in the past 24 hours with the Lebanese government forbidding them from being there, and with the IDF saying, if you will find you there, will kill you, get out of here. So that\u2019s one thing I want to mention. But another thing I want to mention, which is very important, is the question of collateral damage.<\/p>\n
00:26:34:16 \u2013 00:27:09:10<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Lebanon established that 70 people were killed. Nobody knows how many terrorists and how many civilians are in those numbers, because nobody Lebanon doesn\u2019t publish it. They count all of them together. What we have seen in the previous conflict is that eventually the majority of the people are getting killed by Israel in Lebanon. Are the terrorists, the military operatives of Hezbollah, we call the Lebanese to evacuate from areas where he\u2019s burning his presence, because we know that it is using them as human shields, and they know that it is using them as human shields.<\/p>\n
00:27:09:12 \u2013 00:27:38:07<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Israel is doing its best to avoid collateral damage. In this campaign and in previous campaigns, this is something that I know and I\u2019m familiar with very closely, and the most personal level since my military service. And I can say that eventually what I hope is to see a new generation that will grow up in Lebanon, that will refuse to enable Hezbollah to use it as human shields.<\/p>\n
00:27:38:09 \u2013 00:27:47:04<\/p>\n
Richard Pater<\/p>\n
Absolutely. So, it\u2019s so thanked you so much for your time today. Stay safe. And I hope we can get to speak each other, speak to each other soon on happier occasions.<\/p>\n
00:27:47:10 \u2013 00:27:48:23<\/p>\n
Sarit Zehavi<\/p>\n
Thank you. Stay safe. Richard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this episode, Richard Pater speaks with Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi about the threat from Hezbollah on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-324821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}