Army chief Rudolphe Haykal visited Rome this week as Italian officials weigh a Lebanese request to verify army operations in the south, but Italy has signalled concern over the political risks the mission poses.
Rudolphe Haykal arrived in Rome on Sunday for a visit extending to Wednesday, paving the way for discussions on a Lebanese proposal to place an Italian force to verify Lebanese army operations in the south. The visit follows groundwork by President Joseph Aoun and includes military meetings with the Italian army commander and other talks scheduled for Monday, according to MTV.
MTV sources indicate Rome is studying every aspect of the Lebanese proposal, including budgetary requirements and potential risks to Italian forces. Italy has made clear it will approach any decision about such a mission with extreme caution, fearing that any operational development could affect Italian parliamentary elections, particularly the ruling party, the sources said.
A preparatory conference for a donor conference on army support will be held in Paris, bringing together President Joseph Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordanian King Abdullah II, MTV reported.
A Lebanese military source told MTV that the proposal to hand over Aliyeh al-Tahir to the Lebanese army has not reached a serious level, hampered by the absence of guarantees of Israeli withdrawal and by Hezbollah's lack of serious acceptance of an idea circulating for roughly two months.
Hezbollah sources indicated to MTV that dozens of the party's fighters have been killed during operations to resupply combatants in Aliyeh al-Tahir with provisions and materials needed to remain in position.
Retired Brigadier Bahjat Hallal said that while terrain retains strategic value for Hezbollah, that value erodes if the location transforms from controlled territory to exposed and monitored ground. The party's strength lies not in holding the hilltop alone but in the ability to operate in depth and in the surrounding area, he told al-Sharq al-Awsat.
Hallal identified Hezbollah's main challenge as maintaining the ability to manoeuvre. If Israel can establish a presence, impose a buffer zone around the high ground and prevent Hezbollah movement, the balance of power will gradually shift in Israel's favour, he said.
Underground fortifications allow defenders to reduce the impact of air superiority and maintain some continuity and survival, preventing the battle from being decided by control of the surface alone. However, Hallal cautioned that such fortifications could become a burden if the surrounding area becomes a besieged or isolated space.
The central question in Aliyeh al-Tahir is whether underground installations still form an integrated network for manoeuvre and communication or have become isolated pockets, Hallal said. Decision-making, transmission and execution, alongside maintaining communication channels under pressure, will be among the main challenges facing Hezbollah, he added.
Hezbollah's historical model of relative decentralisation and flexibility may mean that targeting a single position or local command will not necessarily be enough to bring down the entire system, according to Hallal.
Hezbollah's strengths include geographical knowledge, organisational depth, the ability to use mountainous terrain and the capacity to continue despite losing positions. Its main weaknesses are Israeli superiority in reconnaissance and air power, plus the danger of isolation, Hallal said.
If Israel succeeds in separating Aliyeh al-Tahir from Hezbollah's broader operational field, fighters in the location will face a more difficult defensive position, Hallal said. Destruction of villages, roads and houses also creates significant strategic pressure because it damages the social and geographical environment within which local forces operate.
