IDF Chief of Staff: ‘We Still Have Many Capabilities … Not Yet Activated’

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi addressed the possibility of war with Hezbollah on Wednesday, in the wake of electronic devices exploding in Lebanon: “We still have many capabilities that we have not yet activated.”

Israel has not formally acknowledged responsibility for the detonation of thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah officials and terrorists on Tuesday, nor for the explosion of hundreds of walkie talkies. Together, the explosions were responsible for about 20 deaths and over 3,000 injuries, and the destruction of Hezbollah’s communications system.

Halevi made his remarks as he approved battle plans, both offensive and defensive, for what the IDF called the “northern arena” — i.e. for Lebanon and northern Israel.

In a statement provided (in translation) by the IDF via Telegram, Halevi was reported as having said:

We are very determined to create the security conditions that will return the residents [of northern Israel] to their homes, to the communities, with a high level of security, and we are ready to do all that is required to bring about these things. Throughout the war for almost a year, we have been fighting in Gaza with two main goals, as well as others – dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages. We have achieved a lot, and we still have further forward to go.

We still have many capabilities that we have not yet activated. We saw some of these things here, and it seems to me that the readiness is good and we are preparing these plans going forward. The rule is that every time we work on a certain stage, the next two stages are already ready to advance. At each stage, the price for Hezbollah must be high.

It was not clear what “capabilities” Halevi was referring to, but the message is being interpreted as a warning that Israel plan to use other unusual tactics against Hezbollah.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.