Israel-Lebanon conflict: Hezbollah will be a formidable foe if war escalates

Israel’s warmongering against Lebanon is a longtime practice in times of war and peace alike. This week, Britain’s Telegraph published unsubstantiated allegations from anonymous airport staff, swiftly denied by Lebanese officials, that Hezbollah was importing and storing Iranian weapons at Beirut’s international airport.

Such reckless accusations bolster Israel’s psychological warfare, which has reached a fever pitch amid speculation that Tel Aviv is planning a full-scale attack on Lebanon once it winds down operations in Rafah. 

Israel’s reported redeployment of offensive troops to the Lebanese border, along with the regional redeployment of US aircraft carriers Eisenhower and Roosevelt in the Eastern Mediterranean, have added more fuel to the fire.  

But a cool-headed analysis reveals the serious challenges Israel would face should it escalate the ongoing war of attrition into a major offensive. Since 8 October, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have caused death, trauma and displacement among civilians, in addition to successful assassinations of Hezbollah fighters and commanders. 

READ MORE: Israel-Lebanon conflict: Hezbollah will be a formidable foe if war escalates, opinion by Hicham Safieddine