Wissam al-Tawil, the villain known as Hajj Jawad who is reported to have arrived in hell one way or another, was one of the most important people in Hezbollah's operations at the tactical level.
In the past, al-Tawil was the perfect operations officer. Whenever Hezbollah wanted to act against Israel (usually after an operative was killed), al-Tawil would be sent to carry out the special operation: anti-tank fire, infiltration, and so on. Al-Tawil was promoted recently and in practice became the most important person in the Radwan Force from an operational perspective, a kind of de facto commander.
Why is this important? Because we must remove the Radwan Force from the south. This is the force that can infiltrate into Israel and carry out an action in the north similar to the October 7 events in the south. It is important to remember that the elimination of the Radwan Force will not eliminate the threat of fire (the rockets and missiles Hezbollah has), since this threat can be generated from all over Lebanon and its elimination requires a major war. It may be there is no choice, and perhaps escalation to war will serve Israel. But if we are looking for an operational achievement that will allow the return of northern Israel to normal, the achievement must be against the Radwan Force.
Is it possible to live with the threat of fire and Hezbollah’s ongoing strengthening? In the long term – no; in the short term – it is better to complete the mission in Gaza first, if possible.
Wissam al-Tawil, the villain known as Hajj Jawad who is reported to have arrived in hell one way or another, was one of the most important people in Hezbollah's operations at the tactical level.
In the past, al-Tawil was the perfect operations officer. Whenever Hezbollah wanted to act against Israel (usually after an operative was killed), al-Tawil would be sent to carry out the special operation: anti-tank fire, infiltration, and so on. Al-Tawil was promoted recently and in practice became the most important person in the Radwan Force from an operational perspective, a kind of de facto commander.
Why is this important? Because we must remove the Radwan Force from the south. This is the force that can infiltrate into Israel and carry out an action in the north similar to the October 7 events in the south. It is important to remember that the elimination of the Radwan Force will not eliminate the threat of fire (the rockets and missiles Hezbollah has), since this threat can be generated from all over Lebanon and its elimination requires a major war. It may be there is no choice, and perhaps escalation to war will serve Israel. But if we are looking for an operational achievement that will allow the return of northern Israel to normal, the achievement must be against the Radwan Force.
Is it possible to live with the threat of fire and Hezbollah’s ongoing strengthening? In the long term – no; in the short term – it is better to complete the mission in Gaza first, if possible.