Act against Hezbollah
The Hezbollah threat to northern Israel continues and must be confronted eventually. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist organization that possesses a large arsenal of rockets as well as drones, anti-tank guided missiles, and other weapons. It has festooned southern Lebanon with bunkers, tunnels, and bases. Much like Hamas, this vicious organization hides among civilians. As in the case of Hamas, the international community has not condemned Hezbollah and has generally appeased it. For instance, the IDF notes constantly that “Hezbollah’s ongoing terrorist activity and attacks against Israel violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The IDF will continue to defend Israel’s borders from any threat.”
UN Resolution 1701 was supposed to prevent Hezbollah from placing its terrorist army on the border. However, as with Hamas, Hezbollah built up power slowly. On February 6, the terrorists in Lebanon “launched several projectiles towards Margaliot in northern Israel. Following the attack, sirens sounded, warning people of the imminent threat. IDF artillery retaliated and struck the sources of the fire,” the IDF said. Two soldiers were lightly wounded. According to reports on Israeli radio from the north, Hezbollah may have fired one of its “Burkan” rockets at the border. These rockets have a large warhead that can inflict serious harm.
The attacks on Tuesday followed attacks on Sunday and Monday. Hezbollah strikes Israel daily, and it chooses the time and place for each attack. For instance, it has launched rockets at Nahariya and toward Rosh Hanikra on the coast. It has also targeted areas in the northern Galilee, such as Avivim, and Metulla, and Kiryat Shmona. Eighty thousand Israelis have been evacuated because of the ongoing threats. Over 2,000 rockets have been fired in four months.
IDF jets targeted a Hezbollah military base near Marwahin in southern Lebanon. Additionally, overnight, IDF jets attacked Hezbollah’s operational facilities near Meiss El Jabal, also in southern Lebanon. The IDF artillery also targeted several locations in southern Lebanon to remove potential threats,” the IDF said on Tuesday.
There is an increasing sense that Israel should do something to remove the Hezbollah threat from the border. So far, Israeli leaders have preferred diplomacy. This makes sense because fighting a two-front war against Hamas and Hezbollah is not in the public interest. Israel has been speaking closely with the US, France, and other countries. Toward that end, the French foreign minister was in Israel this week. He spoke about many issues, such as the Gaza war and tensions in the West Bank. He also visited Lebanon. This is important because France can play an important role in encouraging the Hezbollah attacks to stop by working with Lebanon, where France has a unique role.
US Envoy Amos Hochstein was also in Israel over the weekend, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling in the region this week. These crucial visits show that many essential ingredients exist to reduce the attacks in the North. Nevertheless, if diplomacy doesn’t work, Israel must be prepared to change the situation. Israelis cannot continue to live in a situation where they will be evacuated each time a terrorist group pops up. Historically, we did not evacuate our people due to threats; instead, we silenced the threats. Hezbollah has exploited the war in Gaza for its nefarious means. It is being encouraged by Iran to conduct the daily attacks and to avoid too many of them, which would give Israel the excuse to hit back harder. Israel must work closely with the international community to show that it has a case for removing Hezbollah from the border.
The international community and the UN must do more to get Hezbollah to withdraw and stop its attacks.
Now is the time. It has been four months of war in Gaza. Israel has enabled many reservists to return home, at least briefly. Several divisions are on the northern border, and our soldiers are doing vital work to defend us. However, we must not enable this routine to become part of everyday life. Our people have a right to return to their villages on the northern border. It is time to end the Hezbollah impunity.