Sydney, The alleged Israeli attack on Hezbollah members through their pagers is another ominous development pushing the Middle East towards a full-scale regional war. This leaves Hezbollah with few options but to retaliate with the full support of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance.”
The sophistication and impact of targeting pagers is unprecedented. The attack left at least 11 dead, including some Hezbollah fighters, and up to 3,000 people injured.
The primary goal of the attack, which U.S. officials say was carried out by Israel, was to disrupt Hezbollah's media outlets and its command and control system in Lebanon. Since Hezbollah has reduced cell phone use by their forces because Israel can easily detect and attack them, pagers have increasingly become the preferred messaging device within the group.
The attack may also have been designed to cause panic within the group and among the Lebanese public, many of whom do not support Hezbollah, given the political divisions in the country.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, the Israeli leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said it is determined to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah, which has operated in solidarity with Hamas. Hours before the pager attack, Netanyahu's government clarified that Israel's war goals would be expanded to include the return of tens of thousands of residents to their homes in northern Israel, where they have fled due to Hezbollah's constant rocket fire. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the only way to do this was through military action.
Tuesday's simultaneous pager explosions, then, may be the prelude to an all-out Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.
The consequences of the war with HezbollahHezbollah has already declared that it will retaliate. It remains to be seen what form this will take. The group has enormous military capacity not only to bombard northern Israel with drones and missiles, but also to attack other parts of the Jewish state, including densely populated cities like Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah demonstrated this capability in its 2006 war with Israel. The war lasted 34 days, during which 165 Israelis were killed (121 IDF soldiers and 44 civilians) and Israel's economy and tourism industry suffered notable damage. Hezbollah and Lebanon's losses were much greater, with at least 1,100 deaths. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failed to destroy or incapacitate the group.
Any successful retaliatory strike against Israel's cities could result in serious civilian casualties, giving Israel an additional pretext to pursue its long-standing goal of destroying Hezbollah and punishing its main sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran.In further conflict Broadly, the United States is committed to defending Israel, while Iran would support Hezbollah in any way necessary. If Israeli and American leaders think that Iran will continue to refrain from any action that could push it into war with Israel and the United States, they are wrong.
Hezbollah is a centerpiece of the regime's national and regional security paradigm. Tehran has invested heavily in the group, along with other regional affiliates: the Iraqi militias, the Yemeni Houthis and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, in particular. The goal of this “axis of resistance” has been to build a strong deterrent against Israel and the United States.
Since its founding 45 years ago, the Iranian regime has viewed Israel and its main backer, the United States, as an existential threat, just as Israel has viewed Iran the same way. To this end, the regime has reoriented its foreign relations toward the United States' main adversaries, especially Russia and China. In fact, Russian-Iranian military cooperation has strengthened so much that Moscow will not hesitate to back Iran and its affiliates in any war. Tehran is fully aware of Israel's nuclear prowess. To protect against this, Iran has developed its own nuclear program to the threshold level for developing a weapon. Iranian leaders may also have obtained assurances from Russia that they would help defend Iran should Israel resort to using its nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, it is important to remember that after almost a year of demolishing Gaza and devastating its inhabitants, Israel has failed to eliminate Hamas.
His own actions speak of this. It has constantly forced Gazans to relocate so that IDF soldiers can operate in areas they had previously declared to be free of fighters. The task of defeating Hezbollah and its supporters would be a much larger goal to achieve. It carries the serious risk of a war that all sides have said they do not want, but for which all are preparing.
The pager attack is just the latest in a series of operations that continue to jeopardize any chance of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that could stabilize the region and contribute to the causes of peace rather than war. (The conversation) AMS
The sophistication and impact of targeting pagers is unprecedented. The attack left at least 11 dead, including some Hezbollah fighters, and up to 3,000 people injured.
The primary goal of the attack, which U.S. officials say was carried out by Israel, was to disrupt Hezbollah's media outlets and its command and control system in Lebanon. Since Hezbollah has reduced cell phone use by their forces because Israel can easily detect and attack them, pagers have increasingly become the preferred messaging device within the group.
The attack may also have been designed to cause panic within the group and among the Lebanese public, many of whom do not support Hezbollah, given the political divisions in the country.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, the Israeli leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said it is determined to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah, which has operated in solidarity with Hamas. Hours before the pager attack, Netanyahu's government clarified that Israel's war goals would be expanded to include the return of tens of thousands of residents to their homes in northern Israel, where they have fled due to Hezbollah's constant rocket fire. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the only way to do this was through military action.
Tuesday's simultaneous pager explosions, then, may be the prelude to an all-out Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.
The consequences of the war with HezbollahHezbollah has already declared that it will retaliate. It remains to be seen what form this will take. The group has enormous military capacity not only to bombard northern Israel with drones and missiles, but also to attack other parts of the Jewish state, including densely populated cities like Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah demonstrated this capability in its 2006 war with Israel. The war lasted 34 days, during which 165 Israelis were killed (121 IDF soldiers and 44 civilians) and Israel's economy and tourism industry suffered notable damage. Hezbollah and Lebanon's losses were much greater, with at least 1,100 deaths. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failed to destroy or incapacitate the group.
Any successful retaliatory strike against Israel's cities could result in serious civilian casualties, giving Israel an additional pretext to pursue its long-standing goal of destroying Hezbollah and punishing its main sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran.In further conflict Broadly, the United States is committed to defending Israel, while Iran would support Hezbollah in any way necessary. If Israeli and American leaders think that Iran will continue to refrain from any action that could push it into war with Israel and the United States, they are wrong.
Hezbollah is a centerpiece of the regime's national and regional security paradigm. Tehran has invested heavily in the group, along with other regional affiliates: the Iraqi militias, the Yemeni Houthis and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, in particular. The goal of this “axis of resistance” has been to build a strong deterrent against Israel and the United States.
Since its founding 45 years ago, the Iranian regime has viewed Israel and its main backer, the United States, as an existential threat, just as Israel has viewed Iran the same way. To this end, the regime has reoriented its foreign relations toward the United States' main adversaries, especially Russia and China. In fact, Russian-Iranian military cooperation has strengthened so much that Moscow will not hesitate to back Iran and its affiliates in any war. Tehran is fully aware of Israel's nuclear prowess. To protect against this, Iran has developed its own nuclear program to the threshold level for developing a weapon. Iranian leaders may also have obtained assurances from Russia that they would help defend Iran should Israel resort to using its nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, it is important to remember that after almost a year of demolishing Gaza and devastating its inhabitants, Israel has failed to eliminate Hamas.
His own actions speak of this. It has constantly forced Gazans to relocate so that IDF soldiers can operate in areas they had previously declared to be free of fighters. The task of defeating Hezbollah and its supporters would be a much larger goal to achieve. It carries the serious risk of a war that all sides have said they do not want, but for which all are preparing.
The pager attack is just the latest in a series of operations that continue to jeopardize any chance of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that could stabilize the region and contribute to the causes of peace rather than war. (The conversation) AMS
