Netanyahu Firm on Continuing to Press Hezbollah to Halt Its Aggression in the North

One of Israel’s newly-declared war goals, along with the return of all the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas as a fighting force in Gaza, is the creation of calm on the northern border with Lebanon so that 60,000 Israelis, who were forced to leave their homes because of the daily barrages of rockets and drones from Hezbollah, can at last return home. Prime Minister Netanyahu has remained firm on this war aim, agreeing with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that a “new phase” in the war in the north has begun. And how. On September 17, there were the thousands of pagers that had been distributed to Hezbollah members (Nasrallah was afraid that cell phones could be too easily hacked) that exploded at 3:30 in the afternoon, wounding more than 3,000 Hezbollah members. On September 18, after Hezbollah had told its operatives to get rid of their pagers and instead use walkie-talkies, they dutifully did so, only to discover that the walkie-talkies also exploded in their hands. So did handheld radios. And by the end of that day, there were another 650 wounded Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah operatives, no longer able to use cell phones, pagers, or walkie-talkies, are now bereft of a secure way to communicate with each other. It gets worse. On September 19, the Israeli Air Force launched massive airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, managing to destroy a thousand rockets that were being readied for launch by Hezbollah as part of its planned assault on the Galilee. And on September 20, there was the pinpoint bombing of a building in Beirut which killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Ibrahim Aqil (who had been responsible, in 1983, for the bombing that killed 240 U.S. Marines in their Beirut barracks) and ten other commanders of the elite Radwan Division. They were killed just as they were meeting underground to discuss the planned invasion of the Galilee, an “October 7 for Hezbollah.”

No wonder Netanyahu is not about to listen to the UN officials trying to prevent the IDF from going after Hezbollah just as it has done with Hamas. More on Israel’s determination to force Hezbollah to end its rocket barrages on the Galilee can be found here: “Netanyahu firm on new phase of Hezbollah war as UN warns of catastrophe,” by Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post, September 20, 2024:

Israel on Friday stood firm on the need for a new and expanded phase of its almost year-long war with Hezbollah as the UN warned of catastrophe and the US called for diplomacy.

“Our goals are clear, our actions speak for themselves,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also underscored that point, explaining, “We will continue pursuing our enemies in order to defend our citizens – even in the Dahieh [Hezbollah’s stronghold] in Beirut.

“The series of operations in the new phase of the war will continue until we achieve our goal: ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant stated.

They spoke after the IDF claimed the ten senior Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Ibrahim Aqil, leader of the movement’s Radwan special forces unit, and second-in-command of Hezbollah, during a targeted airstrike in Beirut.

“This elimination is intended to protect the citizens of Israel,” an army spokesperson said in a brief statement to the press, adding that Israel was not seeking regional escalation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israel’s actions in Lebanon this week could spark a regional war in comments delivered by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Antonio Guterres has had nothing to say about Hezbollah’s daily rocket barrages that drove 60,000 Israelis to flee northern Israel. But he has plenty to say about Israel for daring to defend itself, both against Hamas in Gaza, and now against Hezbollah in Lebanon. He fears a “regional war,” unaware that the more Hezbollah is weakened, the less likely a regional war becomes. Within four days, the Mossad and the IDF have managed to destroy Hezbollah’s communication system. The IDF has destroyed 1000 rockets on launchers, just as they were being readied for launch into Israel. And it has killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command and top military leader.