The Jerusalem Post reports that Israeli forces are close to "recreating the 'security zone' that Israel maintained in south Lebanon from 1982 until the army withdrew in 2000." Israeli commanders have also left open the possibility of "advancing north of the Litani River." Israeli jets, the Post further reports, have "dropped flyers in villages north of the river calling on residents to flee north in anticipation of IDF operations in the area." C.S. Scott has an overview of yesterday's operations at Security Watchtower. Also, Steve Schippert at Threatswatch believes Hezbollah is on the ropes, while over at The New Republic, Michael Oren, author of "Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East," warns:
Israel, the Middle East, and the international community cannot afford such a calamitous outcome to the crisis. But to avert it, Israel will have to shift its tactics away from aerial strikes against infrastructure to a massive ground campaign to gain control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. By clearing the terrorists from the area adjacent to its northern border and by eliminating Hezbollah's most strategic strongholds, Israel will have won a concrete achievement. And though long-range rockets will continue to be launched at Israel from central Lebanon, Israel can address that threat by surgical aerial attacks while ensuring that the more plentiful short-range katyushas will be removed.
Judging from today's operations, Oren's view may have won the day in Jerusalem.