Following the barbaric attacks by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7, Hezbollah—the Iranian proxy that sits on Israel’s northern border—began lobbing rockets, mortar shells drones and anti-tank rockets at Israeli communities. The Israeli government has evacuated 43 of these areas, rendering approximately 61,000 Israelis “internally displaced refugees.” Many are afraid to go home, living in temporary residences and hotels until the northern border is more secure.
In the meantime, unfortunately, both Lebanon and Syria have been strong allies of Hezbollah, and neither of those two governments seem prepared to take on Hezbollah. Certainly, the government of Lebanon remains unwilling to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates that Hezbollah must retreat north of the Litani River.
The government of Israel has been saying for several months that they will tackle Hezbollah after they have eliminated the threat from Hamas in the south. Do they now have the capability, commitment and will to do this? If not, what will become of Israel’s northern border and the tens of thousands of evacuees from the north?
Here to answer these questions is IDF Lt. Col. Sarit Zehavi.
