Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a situational assessment with senior commanders and received a briefing.
“We do not want to involve Lebanon in military operations that provoke devastating Israeli reactions,” said Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.
“This violence puts Israelis and Lebanese at risk, and jeopardizes Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The firing of 19 rockets at open areas near Kiryat Shmona was a calculated step by Hezbollah designed to indicate that it will not “allow” Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon to go unanswered; the scope of Israel’s retaliation will determine the next stage of this controlled standoff.
The Israeli military vows to “continue and even intensify” its response in Lebanon to ongoing terror attacks.
While the reason for the attack isn’t clear, Israel’s firepower response was more extensive than July’s reply to a similar attack, though still calculated to avoid a broader deterioration in security.
Two of the projectiles landed in Israel, while a third came down in Lebanese territory, according to the Israeli military.
“I don’t have a magic wand, and I can’t work miracles,” said Lebanese businessman Najib Mikati, who has served in the role twice before.
The recent interception of a weapons-smuggling attempt along the Lebanese-Israeli border is a sign of a larger development: Hezbollah’s unit in charge of orchestrating terrorism in Israel is expanding under new leadership.
Seeking to avoid drawing Israeli firepower south towards Gaza, which is deep in recovery mode, Hamas is looking for new avenues to promote an “equation”; Hezbollah to the north announced the equation, and Iraqi militias and the Houthis have pledged allegiance to it.
“Hezbollah has a role to play in this collapse,” said Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi.
“We will not allow the social, political and economic crisis in Lebanon to turn into a security threat to Israel,” says Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
