By Shahrokh Saei
TEHRAN - Israel is once more escalating tensions towards a potential large-scale conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah amid the regime’s desperate attempts to distract attention from its unsuccessful nearly yearlong war in Gaza.
Israel’s malevolent intentions came to light on Tuesday following the simultaneous detonation of communication devices used by people across Lebanon.
Thousands of people were injured and some others lost their lives when their pagers exploded.
Israel has been blamed for the act of sabotage which also targeted Hezbollah.
Citing a spokesperson in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media said the regime was behind the explosions. But Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Hezbollah issued a statement following the incident saying the movement is fully prepared to defend the Lebanese nation.
“We affirm that the resistance, at all its levels and various units, is at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its steadfast people.”
The movement added, “Hezbollah’s competent agencies are currently conducting a wide-ranging security and scientific investigation to determine the causes that led to these simultaneous explosions. Likewise, medical and health agencies are treating the wounded
and injured in a number of hospitals in various Lebanese regions.”
This came after Israel’s security cabinet announced the expansion of its war objectives.
The council said halting Hezbollah’s attacks in northern Israel to allow Israelis to return to their homes is now an official war goal.
Tens of thousands of people have become displaced in northern Israel and southern Lebanon amid the exchanges of fire between the Tel Aviv regime and Hezbollah since October 8. That is a day after Israel launched war on Gaza.
The Lebanese resistance movement has said it would halt the attacks if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has derailed talks aimed at ending the Gaza war by setting new conditions.
The Israeli security cabinet’s announcement means that the Netanyahu regime is considering a wider military operation in Lebanon which has raised fears of an all-out war.
Over the past months, Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to take heavier military action against Hezbollah.
His threats come as the Israeli army has not succeeded in realizing its war objectives in Gaza which mainly include the elimination of Hamas and “total victory” over the resistance group.
For now, Israel's intention to broaden its military objectives has raised concerns within the United States. This is because American officials fear that a full-blown conflict may endanger the existence of the bogus regime.
US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein warned Netanyahu on Monday that intensifying the conflict with Hezbollah would not help return Israelis evacuated from the border area to their homes, according to the Associated Press.
Hochstein, who met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, added that Israel risked sparking a broad and protracted regional conflict if it moved forward with a full-scale war in Lebanon.
Netanyahu, however, doubled down on his warmongering in the meeting.
Meanwhile, war minister Yoav Gallant also told Hochstein that time is running out for an agreement with Hezbollah, calling for “military action” against the movement to ensure the return of displaced Israelis to the north.
Gallant has already described Netanyahu’s “total victory” dream over Hamas as gibberish and nonsense. Hence, how can Israel succeed in a potential all-out conflict with Hezbollah which is by far more powerful than Hamas?
The Hezbollah resistance movement has said that while it does not want a wider war it is prepared for such a scenario.
Israel’s failed strategy
Israel declared war on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. In both conflicts, the Israeli army was met with strong resistance from Hezbollah and had to retreat.
In mid-August 2021, an Israeli inquiry acknowledged the regime’s failure to achieve its goal in the 2006 war, describing the conflict as “unsuccessful” and a “missed opportunity”.
“Israel initiated a long war, which ended without its clear military victory,” the inquiry said.
Hezbollah military power
In June, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the number of Hezbollah operatives who are ready to join the war has exceeded 100,000.
Citing the World Factbook of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Reuters also reported in June that Hezbollah's military strength is underpinned by upwards of 150,000 missiles and rockets of various types and ranges. The number of Hezbollah’s missiles in 2006 was about 14,000.
Hezbollah has carried out successful attacks against sensitive Israeli military sites over the past months highlighting the regime’s vulnerability despite receiving advanced military equipment from its Western allies including the United States.
Other regional resistance groups such as Yemen’s Ansarullah have also exposed Israel’s weakness through their strikes against the regime and its interests.
On Sunday, Ansarullah hit central Israel with a “new hypersonic ballistic missile that had managed to evade Israel’s air defense systems”, according to Yemeni army spokesman Yahya Saree.
Presently, should Israel choose to continue its military adventurism, it will encounter unexpected repercussions.
If a full-scale war occurs, all regional resistance factions will be prepared to deliver a devastating blow to Israel, which could result in the collapse of the apartheid and illegitimate regime.
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