Hezbollah not deterred, paralyzed 'Israel' for a year: Israeli media
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Israeli media cite officials expressing doubt over the Israeli government's approach to addressing the situation in the North along the border with Lebanon amid escalations with Hezbollah.
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A picture showing the location that Hezbollah targeted in the Elkosh settlement, northwest of occupied Safad. (X)
Hezbollah is undeterred and its most significant achievement has been the near year-long paralysis of "Israel", indicated the former head of the Israeli military Operations Division, Major General (Res.) Israel Ziv, on Wednesday.
In an interview with the Israeli Channel 12, Ziv said, “We are approaching a full year of war with Hamas, yet we remain unable to decisively win the battle, even though Hamas is a weaker adversary compared to Hezbollah.”
He further noted that while "Israel" has achieved some tactical successes, these have yet to translate into strategic ones.
The Israeli Major General (Res.) also noted that "Israel" remains under the Iranian threat.
Ziv suggested that the key to a resolution lies in completing a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip through negotiations in Cairo. He pointed out that by agreeing to halt the war on Gaza and establishing conditions that ensure stability in the North along the border with Lebanon amid escalations with Hezbollah, this agreement could potentially ease tensions with Iran.
Meanwhile, Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Nahum Barnea highlighted the "profound void" felt by settlers in the North, pointing to a lack of government leadership and describing the situation as "deeply frustrating".
No tangible achievements
On his part, Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern expressed frustration in an interview with Israeli Kan channel, saying, "I don’t know what has been accomplished. We are still scattered in hotels, away from our homes in the North."
Stern emphasized that the situation would only be resolved when the evacuated northern settlers could return to their communities.
"I do not know what has been achieved," he stressed. "We are still dispersed across 315 hotels and 526 settlements throughout 'Israel'."
He also raised concerns about the upcoming school year, noting that while it might start in safer, rear areas away from the northern border, the government needs to address existing gaps.
Stern warned that if issues are not resolved by the end of this week, students of Kiryat Shmona will not be able to start the school year on September 1.
A recent poll conducted by the Israeli Channel 12 on the situation in northern settlements recently revealed that 75% of settlers rate the government's handling of the situation in the North as “poor”.
Read more: Israeli army faces boycotts from authorities of northern settlements
The big picture
Since the launch of the war on Gaza in October, Hezbollah directly announced joining the battle in support of Gaza and commenced operations targeting Israeli military positions and northern settlements, conditioning the end of attacks to the cease of the aggression on the Strip.
The Resistance's operations resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from northern occupied Palestine, which also resulted in the halting of their businesses, which primarily serve as the occupation entity's main poultry and agricultural production regions, subsequently impacting "Israel's" economy and food security.
Additionally, the Israeli occupation government was forced to provide monthly payments to evacuated settlers, putting more pressure on the already stagnated economy.
