Benjamin Netanyahu’s new war

Tel Aviv has officially announced the start of a ground operation in Lebanon for the first time since 2006. At these moments, heavy air strikes are being carried out on Beirut, Israeli armored vehicles crossed the border with the country. The operation was called "Northern Arrows."

According to the Israeli authorities, it is limited in nature and aims to permanently destroy the threat of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. International experts fear that these actions could lead to a big war in the Middle East - much will depend on how Iran responds. However, the bloodless and humiliated Tehran is in no hurry to retaliate.

Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

"In accordance with the political decision a few hours ago, the Israel Defense Forces launched limited, local and targeted ground raids based on accurate intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon. These targets are located in settlements located near the border and pose an immediate threat to settlements in northern Israel, "the Israeli authorities said in a statement.

Tel Aviv emphasizes that the army is acting on the basis of plans developed by the General Staff and the Northern Command, for the implementation of which the Israeli troops "have been preparing in recent months." Ground forces’ actions support the Israeli Air Force and artillery, delivering "precision strikes against military targets in the area."

The operation in southern Lebanon started almost a year after the monstrous terrorist attack on October 7, when Hamas terrorists suddenly attacked Israeli citizens during a music festival and took dozens of hostages. Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip, however, it was not able to fully realize all the intended goals. Very quickly, the operation became a bloody and viscous guerrilla struggle that could smolder for years.

Despite the almost complete destruction of the Gaza Strip, the terrorist organization Hamas continues to operate, and a significant part of the hostages are still in custody. Some were demonstratively executed, which had an extremely negative impact on the ratings of Netanyahu and his inner circle. As a result of the October 7 attack and subsequent actions, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government found itself in a difficult position - after the failure of the army and special services, it is imperative to give results.

Against the background of failures in the Gaza Strip and international pressure due to the inability to victoriously complete the operation, Netanyahu needs a new war. After a series of recent successful operations against the leaders of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, the ratings of Netanyahu’s team again went up. Behind this, people have forgotten even the recent mass protests against the judicial reform that Netanyahu tried to "drag" - as it is believed to strengthen the regime of personal power and fight the opposition.

A big bonus to his rating was also given by the operation to destroy communications by the enemies of Tel Aviv - the very explosions of pagers and phones filled with explosives. A huge success was the elimination of the head of the Politburo of the Hamas terrorist organization Ismail Haniya and the recent destruction in Beirut of the long-term leader of Hezbollah terrorists Hassan Nasrallah. Thus, the Israeli special services "corrected" after the deafening failure of a year ago.

Together with Nasralla, almost the entire senior officer of the terrorist organization was destroyed. However, this is a network-type organization, so in any case, the struggle will continue. Current events are likely to attract a significant number of Lebanese among Hezbollah terrorists.

At the same time, the Hezbollah terrorist organization is a proxy structure for Iran, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In fact, the current Iranian authorities, who have declared their desire to normalize relations with the West, may benefit from the weakening of Hezbollah - for the domestic political weakening of the IRGC, which relies on further confrontation.

Earlier, the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed hope for the normalization of relations with Western countries, and also refused to support Russian actions in Ukraine. Apparently, the reaction to Israel’s aggression against Lebanon from Tehran will be the same as after the assassination of Haniya - formidable statements in the complete absence of real action.