IDF Continues Pounding Hezbollah Amidst Calls for Diplomacy

The IDF announced on Sunday that it had carried out over 200 air strikes on Hezbollah targets over the Yom Kippur holiday, adding that this was done in support of the large ground incursion that now includes the deployment of four IDF divisions inside Lebanon. Over 320 rockets were also fired by Hezbollah into northern Israel on Yom Kippur, causing some damage and a few injuries.

Drones also penetrated Israeli air space from Hezbollah, damaging some buildings but causing no casualties.

The IDF estimates that between 50-70% of Hezbollah's supply of rockets, anti-tank weapons and UAVs has been depleted already, and the mission they're engaged in does not include eliminating the possibility of Hezbollah firing weapons into Israel. Rather, the mission at this time is to eliminate the threat of a ground invasion by Hezbollah's Radwan Force. However, as that threat recedes, it's likely the elimination of rocket fire will become a priority so that the overall mission of allowing residents of northern Israeli communities to return to their homes can be realized.

However, the clock might be ticking on the IDF to complete this mission as US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin reportedly told his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday evening that Israel must finish up its miliary campaign against Hezbollah and give the diplomats a chance to solve the problems Hezbollah poses.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a readout describing the conversation that Austin “reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible."

In the south, Hamas managed to fire two rockets at the Israeli city of Ashkelon on Yom Kippur, while the IDF reported destroying several Hamas tunnels, firing positions and rocket launching sites, eliminating dozens of terrorists in the process.