Israeli warplanes carried out new attacks on Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanon on Tuesday, with Lebanese officials saying more than 500 people were killed and tens of thousands fled for safety. Lebanese state news agency NNA said the airstrikes were the most extensive in geographic range to date. Hezbollah rockets fired into Israel again as well, striking cities and towns and raising fears of a full-scale ground war in the Middle East that could destabilize the region even further.
The escalation escalated after Hezbollah was hit by a wave of pager and walkie-talkie explosions last week that killed some of its top commanders and knocked out communications systems, revealing a gap in the organization’s security that is making it more vulnerable to Israeli strikes. It has also been forced to move some of its fighters and weapons into civilian areas, including into homes.
As a result, it has become harder to distinguish between civilians and Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah, which has a massive military presence in southern Lebanon, says it is working to defuse tensions. The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, warned of “terrible consequences” if the fighting continues.
Neither side calls the ongoing escalation a war. But it is the biggest in a decade, and the death toll has already surpassed that from a massive warehouse explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020 that killed hundreds. The strikes also wiped out large areas in the south of Lebanon and jammed roads with evacuating residents.
Israel’s military chief said attacks on Hezbollah would be accelerated as needed and that the goal was to make it “very difficult for Hezbollah to operate inside of Lebanon.” The army is not looking for a long war but will continue to target the armed group’s ability to fire rockets into northern Israel. “We will continue to attack Hezbollah as necessary until we see Hezbollah remove the threat from Israel’s northern border,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
A senior Hezbollah official said the Israeli strikes were a clear sign of a preemptive strike but added that there was no need to respond with an escalation, which would lead to more destruction and civilian casualties. “It’s time for the Israeli government to realize that it’s in a hazardous situation,” he told NNA.
Hezbollah has fired more than 9,000 rockets into Israel since the start of October and about 250 in just one day on Monday. The attacks have prompted a major evacuation of the villages, towns, and cities of Israel’s northern border area.
The deteriorating situation has raised concerns about a potential confrontation between the United States, Israel’s closest ally, and Iran, which backs Hezbollah and other proxies across the Middle East. A full-scale ground war between Hezbollah and Israel, which have fought three wars over the past 25 years, would likely be catastrophic for both sides. But that is not what’s at stake now. The focus is on degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities to the point where 60,000 displaced Israeli residents of Hezbollah-controlled communities can return to their homes.
