Israeli goals in Lebanon war 'maximalist', 'unattainable'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Atlantic
6 Jul 2024 19:44

Hezbollah's advanced arsenal and large manpower will pose an overwhelming challenge to the Israeli occupation in a war on Lebanon.

Hezbollah Resistance fighters parade during the inauguration of a new cemetery for their fighters who were martyred while fighting against the Israeli occupation, in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)

Israeli political leaders and officials' statements regarding "total victory" against Resistance movements in the region, specifically Hezbollah and Hamas, are "dangerous bluster", The Atlantic reported.

The American-based magazine took particular interest in the possibility of an Israeli offensive in Lebanon, describing the Israeli war goals as "maximalist and largely unattainable."

Israeli authorities are prone to "underestimate" the Resistance factions they are fighting, adding that they tend "to take a hammer to a problem that a hammer has never fixed."

"No definitive blow could take out Hezbollah’s military capability within a short period of time," The Atlantic's article read.

According to Israeli estimates, Hezbollah owns 150,000 rocket artillery shells and missiles, some of which are precision-guided. The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon also has tens of thousands of battle-hardened fighters ready to take part in combat operations against Israeli occupation forces.

When compared to previous confrontations between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, and the subsequent results of battles in 1996, 2000, and 2006, a possible round of confrontations is surely to include a much more robust and advanced Resistance faction.

'Israel' will not gain through war what it can't through diplomacy

As reported by the magazine, "Hezbollah knows it can play the long game much better than a traditional army, even one as mighty as Israel’s."

The outlet also pointed to the possibility of a large-scale war in Lebanon drawing Resistance fighters from Iraq and Syria, while an "ultimate nightmare scenario" would also see the involvement of Iran and the United States.

Continuous threats of war against Lebanon, made by Israeli officials, come in the context of attempts to push Hezbollah's special forces and other units out of the border area. However, such a task or the mediation of such a clause in a deal is seen to be nearly impossible to achieve.

"In hardly any scenario would Israel gain more from military confrontation with Hezbollah than it would through diplomacy," The Atlantic wrote.

Yet, the Israeli occupation continues to escalate its strikes on South Lebanon and assassinate Hezbollah fighters and leaders, which have been met by corresponding strikes deep into the northern occupied territories.

Hezbollah has tied the fate of the Northern Front to that of the ongoing war on Gaza, making it unequivocally clear that its operations will not stop until the Israeli aggression on the besieged territory ends.

Mired with another battle down south and, although today, Gaza lies in ruins and thousands of Palestinians were killed, most of the hostages are still with Hamas, which is still standing strong despite Israeli vows to eliminate the Resistance movement. This, according to the US magazine, constitutes a "strategic disaster for Israel."

In conclusion, the magazine calls on Netanyahu, as he looks to the north, "where a much more formidable adversary awaits him," to remember the lessons of the era of Begin, who thought he could “clean up, once and for all, the mess in the Middle East," when he was deputy ambassador to the United States: "There is no military victory to be had in a large-scale war against Lebanon."