While Hamas is increasingly weakening in Gaza, the conflict with Hezbollah threatens to escalate. Now Israel is preparing for a possible war on the border with Lebanon.
The security situation for residents near the Gaza Strip is slowly easing somewhat. This is primarily due to the significantly reduced firepower of the militant Islamist Hamas. However, the situation on Israel’s northern border is rapidly deteriorating.
Just yesterday there was heavy shelling again from Lebanon by the pro-Iranian terrorist militia Hezbollah. The Israeli citizen Avner Peretz had tried until the end to hold out in Kiryat Shmona, a town right on the Lebanese border. Now he gives up and moves away. It’s becoming too dangerous for him, he tells Israeli TV Channel 12.
“We want to be treated like all other citizens in the center of the country – and not like second-class citizens,” explains Peretz. “We don’t want to have to live in fear all the time. I thought it would take a week or two. And then you’re completely powerless.” It is unlikely that he will be able to return to his house any time soon.
Hezbollah should be pushed back into the interior of the country
Hezbollah is flexing its muscles and showing Israel that its military capabilities should not be underestimated. The balance of the past few days is corresponding. A female soldier died after Hezbollah shells landed in the northern Israeli city of Safed. In addition, numerous people were injured. Safed is 15 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
Israel’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi leaves no doubt about Israel’s determination to respond. “We are preparing for a war in the north,” says Halevi. Without results, the conflict will not end.
Israel wants to push Hezbollah back from the border into the interior of the country. “There will be much more stability and peace here and then we can tell the residents that they can return,” promises the Chief of General Staff. “Will that happen tomorrow? Probably not. It will take some time.”
Israel also blames Lebanon for Hezbollah attacks
Israel’s response to the latest shelling was correspondingly violent. The military carried out several strikes deep into Lebanon. At least ten people were killed – including Hezbollah militia fighters. However, Lebanon also reports dead civilians. The information cannot currently be independently verified.
According to Lebanese sources, civilians were also killed in Israeli counterattacks on Thursday night.
Hezbollah attacked Israel just a few days after the start of the Middle East war and repeatedly got involved in skirmishes. Skirmishes that, however, have the potential to escalate this conflict.
Benny Gantz, minister in Israel’s current war cabinet, makes it clear that a military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah will have repercussions throughout Lebanon. “One must be clear: the party responsible for the shooting from Lebanon is not only the terrorist militia Hezbollah, but also the government of Lebanon and the state of Lebanon, which allows the shooting from its territory,” emphasized Gantz. “There is no target or military infrastructure in Lebanon that we are not targeting.”
Small war at the border threatens to escalate
Although Hezbollah is showing solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip with armed force, it is still holding back militarily. The question is, will it stay that way if Hamas loses militarily in the foreseeable future? Or if Israel’s military course in the Gaza Strip is deemed too cruel by its Islamist allies?
In any case, the danger remains that this small war on the Israeli-Lebanese border will escalate into a larger conflict.