In northern Israel, rising tension with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has led residents of the region to prepare for a possible outbreak of open, large-scale conflict. After a month-long inconclusive war in 2006, the specter of an all-out confrontation looms again, with both sides building strength and warning of the devastating consequences it could bring.
The city of Haifa, the third largest in Israel and within reach of Hezbollah’s weapons, is on the front line of this potential confrontation. Recently, its mayor urged residents to stock up on food and medicine amid the growing risk of all-out war.
Over the past six months, Israel and Hezbollah have intensified their daily cross-border attacks, paralleling the war in Gaza, and their growing scope and sophistication has raised fears of a broader regional conflict. Hezbollah has amassed a formidable arsenal since 2006, including a network of tunnels to move fighters and weapons, and its forces have been trained by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops for more than a decade.
So far, Hezbollah has limited its attacks to a swath of northern Israel, trying to draw Israeli forces away from Gaza. Israel, for its part, has declared its willingness to push Hezbollah back from the border, but it has not been clear how to achieve this.
The escalating violence has forced some 60,000 Israeli residents to flee their homes in the first mass evacuation of the country’s north, unable to return safely. This situation has led to increased calls within Israel for stronger military action against Hezbollah. Across the border in Lebanon, some 90,000 people have also been displaced by Israeli attacks.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been forceful in warning that residents of northern Israel “will not return” to their homes, raising tensions and the potential for escalation.
The Israeli military has declared it has completed another step in preparing for a possible war with Hezbollah, focusing on logistics and preparations for a “broad mobilization” of reservists.
A conflict between Israel and Hezbollah would likely cause massive destruction in both countries. In the 2006 war, 1,200 people died in Lebanon and 158 in Israel. Since October, more than 300 people have been killed in fighting in the border area, mainly Hezbollah fighters.
Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general, told Reuters that there is an increasing likelihood that a war will break out between Israel and Hezbollah, either due to an unforeseen escalation of fighting or because Israel loses patience with not being able to return to its homes.
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Source: Reuters
