Israeli Commander Won't Rule Out Ground Attack

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 16, 2006 — -- As Israel's military weighs its options and plots its next moves, a top miltary commander would not rule out a ground invasion in Lebanon.

For now, Brig. Gen. Ino Nehushtan told Charles Gibson, anchor of ABC News's "World News Tonight," Israel's attacks against opponents in Lebanon will be from the air.

Troops are in position and ready, he said. But Israel first will wait to measure the effectiveness of its airstrikes.

Nehushtan said Israel has been tracking Hezbollah attacks and hitting the sources from which the attacks were launched.

For instance, the missile that killed Israelis in Haifa today was in the air for two minutes. Nehushtan claimed Hezbollah used mobile launchers, and that Israel managed to knock some of those launchers out of commission after the attack.

Nehushtan told Gibson today in Tel Aviv, Israel, why that's an important tactic.

Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan: We aim to cripple Hezbollah, hurt it -- create conditions for the Lebanese government to deploy its forces alongside the border line instead of Hezbollah, who is a great threat to us, and create a condition for the safe and sound return of our soldiers that were abducted a few days ago.

Charles Gibson So how do you do that? Do you simply hit them and hit them and hit them again?

Nehushtan: We are targeting the entire process of this missile launching -- where the missiles [are being] stored, in houses, in villages; where they are being launched from, in the vicinity of the villages; how they are mobilized, through transportation routes; how they are coming to the country and where from, Syria, Iran, through the ports. So we are targeting the entire process of this missile threat.

Gibson Do you fear they may have missiles that can hit more deeply than we have seen so far?

Nehushtan: We do not fear, but we are ready and prepared. And we take into account that they might have it.

Gibson You don't know?

Nehushtan: We take into account that they might have it.

Gibson They might?

Nehushtan: They might.

Gibson You don't know?

Nehushtan: They might.