2024-09-23 23:32:54
In northern Israel and southern Lebanon, the sound of rockets is getting louder and the sky is ablaze with the flash of explosions. The region is on the edge of an abyss and an anxious world is warning of a costly all-out war.
The military dynamic between Israel and Hezbollah that began years ago is taking a more complex and dangerous turn. As each side attempts to assert its power and status, questions are being raised about whether this confrontation will lead to all-out war or a diplomatic solution to end decades of conflict and tension.
Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah targets on Monday, killing hundreds of people, according to Lebanese authorities.
Upgrade for diplomacy
In his strategy to deal with the northern front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu follows the principle of “escalation to reduce escalation” and aims to implement a diplomatic solution by intensifying air strikes on Hezbollah positions and directly targeting Hezbollah leaders. .
Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday that Israeli forces were “changing the security balance in northern Israel.”
“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” Netanyahu added from a defense ministry air trench, according to a statement from his office. ” and added, “Israel does not wait for threats, it anticipates them.
In this context, CNN international security correspondent Nick Patton Walsh said, “So-called peaceful wars rarely succeed and are often optional, as The same is true of the recent escalation in Israel.
Israel’s precise air strikes on Hezbollah positions are one of the main means of this escalation. Walsh said Israel was capable of causing significant damage to the party’s infrastructure and leadership operations.
Israel steps up attacks on Lebanon on Monday
This approach is based on the assumption that the party, already exhausted and losing some of its military strength in the Syrian war, will not be able to respond with the same force as in the past.
However, military analysis suggests that Hezbollah may escalate its missile strikes as a final response, which could further complicate the situation and lead to wider explosions in the area.
Israel’s vision for the future may hinge on the idea that continued pressure will weaken the party in the long term, but as Walsh argued in an analysis published in The Times of Israel, this assumption Still fraught with risk. CNN website .
Israel’s perspective: political or military objectives?
“Israel’s aim is to save lives by distinguishing between Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese civilians,” Danny Ayalon, Israel’s former ambassador to Washington, explained in an interview with Al-Hurra TV.
Hezbollah “uses civilians as human shields and hides weapons and missiles in residents’ homes,” he said.
“We have warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate areas where we believe Hezbollah weapons depots are located,” he added.
Israel has launched airstrikes against hundreds of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country and northern areas near Syria, in the largest-ever campaign against the group.
Israel has called on Lebanese to evacuate areas where the group allegedly stores weapons.
Ayalon explained Israel’s position in trying to justify airstrikes that often kill civilians. He said Hezbollah was “ultimately responsible for the deaths of civilians, not the Israeli military” because it “hid weapons in civilians’ homes.”
Ayalon explained that the Israeli government had “waited 11 months” since October last year to implement this escalation, and that Hezbollah “was the one who carried out the attack in a cowardly manner,” as he described it.
America’s position
On the other side of the conflict, the United States is stepping up efforts to quell the conflict. “The goal of the United States is to find a diplomatic solution that allows Israelis and Lebanese to return home safely,” Roberts Wood, deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, said in an interview with Al-Hula newspaper.
Wood said many U.S. government officials are working to calm the situation in the region through talks with both sides.
Wood added that the United States sees a diplomatic solution as a way out of the escalating crisis, noting that “what is happening in Lebanon is being discussed” and that the main goal is “to prevent the war from escalating into a full-scale war.” “
A senior State Department official said on Monday that the United States will discuss “concrete ideas” with allies and partners to prevent the war from expanding.
A bloody day in Lebanon… Bekaa attacked again, targeting ‘third man’
On Monday, multiple areas in southern and eastern Lebanon suffered a series of violent Israeli attacks starting in the early morning. According to the latest news from the Ministry of Health, the death toll reached approximately 274, which is an unprecedented death toll. Famous leader of Hezbollah.
Israeli officials say the recent escalation of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon is aimed at forcing the Iran-backed group to agree to a political solution.
But the official, who requested anonymity, said in a statement to reporters in New York that President Joe Biden’s administration is working to “reduce tensions … and break the cycle of strikes and counterattacks.”
“At least in my recent memory, I don’t recall a time when escalation or intensification resulted in a situation that was essentially calm and significantly stable,” he said.
Lebanese Victims and Impact of Conflict
On the Lebanese side, authorities announced that an Israeli attack on Lebanon on Monday killed more than 490 people, including women and children. The figures show huge casualties and are reminiscent of the 2006 war.
Thousands of Lebanese began fleeing from the south to Beirut and northern cities in an attempt to escape the growing destruction.
Live video of a Lebanese journalist injured in Israeli attack
The Lebanese social media pioneer has circulated a video clip showing the moment Fadi Boudia, the editor-in-chief of “Malaya International Network”, was injured while participating via Skype in the “Political Ink” program, which is broadcast on Lebanese television. iNews” channel.
The Israeli attack came two days after Hezbollah’s worst attack since October 8, which targeted Ramat David air base and a Rafael Military Industries complex in which a New missiles named “Fadi 1” and “Fadi” 2.”
The displacement is believed to be the largest since the 2006 war and reflects huge fears that the current confrontation will turn into an all-out war.
Lebanese flow from south to north amid heavy Israeli strikes, targeted weapons and rising risks
The Israeli military has launched more than 1,600 air strikes against Hezbollah targets and claims to have successfully destroyed multiple weapons and missile sites hidden in civilian homes.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army was “ready for a ground invasion if necessary,” indicating the seriousness of the current operation.
But the attacks are likely to draw a response from Hezbollah, which has an estimated 150,000 missiles and has fired hundreds of them into northern Israel.
Hezbollah’s missiles range from short to long range and have the ability to accurately target military and civilian areas.
Amid this tense situation, the United Nations peacekeeping forces suspended patrols in southern Lebanon, considering that the scale of the exchange of fire had become extremely dangerous.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern” about the escalation of violence and called for calming the situation and finding a diplomatic solution.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the escalation between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah is close to an all-out war.
Speaking to reporters, Borrell added, “If this situation is not war, I don’t know what you would call it.”
The British Foreign Secretary said: “I am deeply disturbed by the missiles and air strikes launched by Lebanon and Israel and the civilian casualties caused by them.”
“I reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire between the two parties and I will emphasize this tonight when I meet with G7 ministers,” he added, according to Reuters.
Who pays for what Israel says is a Hezbollah website it targets?
So far, civilians appear to be paying the highest price in this ongoing conflict. As Israel and Hezbollah attack each other, hundreds of innocent people have been killed and thousands have been displaced.
While both sides have tried to justify their actions in terms of self-defense, the reality on the ground is more complicated, as it is difficult to distinguish between military personnel and civilians.
The question now arises: Is there really any hope for a diplomatic solution? Will U.S. and U.N. efforts succeed in preventing escalation?
History shows that even if Hezbollah suffers a major blow, it can rebuild itself and come back with greater strength. Israel, on the other hand, appears to have no hesitation in continuing its military campaign if there is no political agreement to end the party’s threat.
The future remains uncertain and tensions in the region are likely to increase. Although the international community is working hard to find a solution, both sides remain in a difficult situation and neither side seems ready to compromise.
Unless a political solution is reached that satisfies all parties, the specter of war will continue to loom on the horizon.
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