החמ"ל בפיקוד צפון במהלך ההתחממות בגזרהדובר צה"ל

Brigadier General (res.) Ram Shmueli , former head of the Israeli Air Force Intelligence Group who commanded hundreds of sorties to destroy Hezbollah's rocket system during the Second Lebanon War, believes that the Lebanese terrorist organization is acting cautiously against Israel.

"I want to believe that because of the great deterrence we have in the field and the system of checks and balances, this won't develop into a major escalation. This would also be good for Hezbollah," Shmueli told Arutz Sheva.

"The campaign is being conducted in a level-headed and restrained manner. Whenever there's an exchange of fire, something can happen that spins out of control and everything blows up. I believe that this is an isolated event that will be over soon."

Shmueli explains that the IDF's deterrence vis-à-vis Hezbollah is very strong. "The IDF's deterrence is operating unequivocally. Hezbollah, although it is a terror organization, is heeding the voice of Lebanese residents who are not interested in an escalation."

"Everything that has been going on in recent months is mainly intelligence superiority that makes it difficult for the enemy and undermines the other party's confidence that it can do something without us knowing about it. Therefore, the power of intelligence is really critical in the issue of exercising power. What we see in Syria, whether it can be attributed to us or not attributed to us, is the power of intelligence alongside the power of airstrikes."

Shmueli founded and heads the Public Education Cabinet. "It's a wonderful thing that the state of Israel successfully begins the school year under the threat of Hezbollah. Our greatest strength is of course our planes, soldiers and artillery but the power of the public is essential. There is no country like ours."

Shmueli added that the strength of the home front also strengthens the battlefront. "I fly in the reserves as a flight school instructor. Since Operation Protective Edge, whenever I fly over the Gaza Strip communities, I see that they're shooting at us and we continue to build. The more you hit the Jewish people, the more they grow and become strong. It won't help Nasrallah to try to frighten us. We'll begin school and we'll also protect our people. We'll build and also attack them if they attack us. We can be proud of both our residents and the IDF."