“You’re talking about knocking out all of our essential infrastructure, oil refineries, air bases, Dimona.” – Michael Oren
As clashes between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah are intensifying, Foreign Policy reported, citing an Israeli diplomat, that Israel would face a “strategic threat” in the case of an all-out war.
Hezbollah launched its most significant rocket assault at Israel last week, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, raising concerns that the conflict could rapidly escalate.
Starting on October 8, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones into Israel, while the Israeli Air Force has responded with hundreds of airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
According to FP, “some 140,000 people have been displaced from their homes on both sides of the border.”
Despite calls from the United States and other Western allies to de-escalate, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country was considering the option of going to war with Lebanon and that, “in a total war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard.”
HAARETZ (citing military sources): Damage occurred to infrastructure and property as a result of the firing of about 10 missiles towards Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
HEZBOLLAH: We bombed the 769th Eastern Brigade headquarters in the Kiryat Shmona barracks with dozens of… pic.twitter.com/wOgfoyXQoV
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 19, 2024
However, Israel would also suffer significant losses, according to the report.
FP mentions a report issued by the Center for International and Strategic Studies, which estimates that “Hezbollah is a far more formidable foe than Hamas, since the former is thought to be the most heavily armed nonstate actor in the world”
Just Three Days
Speaking with FP, Michael Oren, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States during the Obama administration, said: “Hamas represents a tactical threat to the state of Israel. Hezbollah is a strategic threat to the state of Israel”.
The group, according to the report, is estimated to possess about 130,000 rockets and missiles “that could quickly overwhelm the country’s sophisticated air defense systems and hit its biggest cities.”
An Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon.
FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/Fg8QCbXNcK pic.twitter.com/49iaNA1iDy
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 19, 2024
“I’ve read estimates of what Hezbollah could do to us in three days that are just horrendous,” Oren told FP. “You’re talking about knocking out all of our essential infrastructure, oil refineries, air bases, Dimona,” he added, referring to the site of Israel’s nuclear research facility.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage of Israel’s Haifa Port, which is located 17 miles from the Lebanese border, in an attempt “to penetrate Israel’s air defenses and reach deep into the country,” the report noted.
Hezbollah is also thought to have developed a tunnel network that runs under Lebanon, which some Israeli analysts argue is even more extensive than the one used by Hamas.
AL-JAZEERA: The Lebanese group Hezbollah has shared a video through its Telegram channel showing one of its reconnaissance drones flying over northern Israel, including the Haifa port.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 18, 2024
Road to De-escalate
According to Daniel Byman, a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, a ceasefire in Gaza could ensure a de-escalation at Israel’s northern border.
“I think if Hamas agrees to a cease-fire, Hezbollah will respect that as well,” Byman said. “It has, in general, tried to be proportionate,” he added.
US President Joe Biden’s senior adviser, Amos Hochstein, arrived in Israel on Monday to address the escalating conflict between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
Hochstein, who played a key role in the October 2022 maritime boundary agreement between Israel and Lebanon, is visiting amid intense border clashes.
Biden Adviser Hochstein Visits Israel amid Tensions with Hezbollah, Calls for War
Since the Gaza war began last October, daily exchanges of fire have displaced thousands on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.
Washington is concerned about a serious escalation following the recent killing of a senior Hezbollah commander, which led to Hezbollah launching hundreds of rockets and drones at northern Israel.
The potential for a widespread escalation is significant, with serious consequences for Lebanon and the entire region.
“What I worry about every single day is that a miscalculation or an accident, an errant missile that is intended for a target misses the target, hits something else,” Hochstein said, according to Foreign Policy. “That could force the political system in either country to retaliate in a way that slides us into war.”
Escalating Tensions
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 7, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has engaged directly, but relatively in a limited way in the war against the Israeli occupation.
According to Hezbollah sources, the movement has carried out 1,194 military operations in the first 250 days of war, killing and wounding over 2,000 Israeli soldiers.
Gaza Ceasefire Could End Conflict with Hezbollah – US Envoy Calls for ‘Urgent’ De-escalation
Israel has occupied parts of Lebanon for decades and has only left the country in 2000, following stiff Lebanese resistance under Hezbollah’s leadership.
It attempted to re-occupy Lebanon in 2006 but failed in what Lebanon considers a major victory against Israel.
Israel, however, continues to occupy parts of Lebanon, namely the Sheeba Farms region.
Hezbollah has vowed to recover every inch of Lebanon that has been occupied by Israel contrary to international law.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
So, like Blinken, Biden sends another Zionist, Amos Hochstein, a former IDF officer, to negotiate with Lebanon. No wonder things go from bad to worse.
No wonder Biden will lose the election.He is instrumental in supplying Israel with arms and money to defeat Palestine. Although not talked about in US news, it is clear his insane support of the crazy right-wing Israeli government will cost him the presidency.
The ACTOR for BIDEN, who was executed over 2 years ago, cannot do anything and US Corporation, of which he is supposed to be President of, is out of business, so to speak.
We are being “Played’ or at least YOU are