1. There appears to be a major thrust towards the Litani River from the northern tip of Israel. The Litani is at its closest to Israel at this point. Lead elements of IDF are as far as At Tayyabah, approximately one half of the way to the Litani. Combat began late Monday (Israel time).
2. There are a secondary attacks in the vicinity of Ayta as Shab along the west-central border of Israel / Lebanon and Hula near Qiyat Shemona
3. IDF forces are still reported in the vicinity of Ras, located south of Bint Jubayl (Hezbollah stronghold).
4. Across the rest of the border are smaller, pinning actions seeking to freeze and mask the main IDF effort.
Apparent Israeli tactical/strategic goal:
The quick thrust to the Litani River in the north quickly permits the IDF to cordon-off S. Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah piecemeal. Hezbollah’s tactic – sit in place (bunkers) and slug it out versus Israel’s more mobile forces will result in Hezbollah pockets being isolated to be later ground into nothingness. Forces to the west of the At Tayyabah salient will probably wheel to the west, pushing any fleeing Hezbollah into the ocean. Plan for the area east of At Tayyabah is not developed enough to confirm but may swing towards the east towards the Syrian border and the Bekkah valley. But to obtain the 20 mile buffer, they may not have to go too far to the east.