Israel's military intelligence does not think that Syria or Lebanon's Hizbullah will carry out a largescale offensive against Israel in 2008, an Israeli daily said on Sunday. It said that Israel had regained its so-called force of dissuasion during last year's 34-day war with Hizbullah.
It also believes that Israel demonstrated its ability to strike in the north, referring to a raid in Syria on September 6 in which Israeli warplanes bombed Syrian targets deep in its territory. The intelligence report was cited by the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.
In Gaza, Hamas movement continues to reinforce militarily in the territory, the report said. Hamas forces "have organised like a veritable army into battalions and regiments" with the aim of inflicting the maximum casualties on Israel should it launch a widescale offensive in the territory.
