Neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants war! But they are always prepared for war.

Last Sunday in the early hours, one hundred Israeli warplanes flew over southern Lebanon.

Later, the Israeli military reported, ‘The warplanes conducted preemptive strikes on Hezbollah targets.’

Israel stated, ‘Hezbollah fighters were preparing for a major attack. So Israel launched a preemptive strike. This has prevented a large-scale attack.’ 

In response, Hezbollah fired a series of rockets and missiles into northern Israeli territory. Fearing that Hezbollah’s attack could escalate, Netanyahu’s government declared a 48-hour state of emergency.

If the claim of sending 100 warplanes is accurate, this would be Israel’s largest military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon since 2006. The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah lasted 34 days.

On Sunday, at around 4:30 AM local time, Israeli forces launched an attack on Lebanon. It is being said,

 ‘Around 5 AM, the Iran-backed group Hezbollah was preparing for a major attack on Israel.’ 

Citing an Israeli intelligence official, The New York Times reported, 

‘Yesterday, Hezbollah’s rockets struck as far as Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city. This means Hezbollah’s rockets have reached deep into Israel—all the way to the central region.’

“Israel temporarily closed Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in response to Hezbollah’s retaliatory attacks.

Yesterday, Hezbollah announced, ‘They have fired over three hundred rockets and missiles targeting various military installations in northern Israel.’

Due to Hezbollah’s attacks, sirens were sounded across northern Israel to alert citizens about potential airborne threats.

After the counterattack on Israel, Hezbollah issued a statement saying, ‘On July 30, Israel conducted an attack in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, killing Hezbollah’s senior commander Fuad Shukr. To avenge this killing, they have launched numerous rockets, missiles, and drones into Israel. This completes the ‘first phase’ of their attack.’

The following day, on July 31, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian liberation organization Hamas, was killed in a covert attack in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination. However, Israel has not made any public statements regarding this matter.

Hamas and Hezbollah maintain close ties. Since October 7, when Israel began indiscriminate attacks on Gaza, Hezbollah has been increasingly launching attacks on Israel in support of Hamas. Israel has also been retaliating. This has led to escalating tensions between the two sides.

After Shukr’s killing, Hezbollah, and following Haniyeh’s death, Iran vowed revenge. The entire region had been waiting to see what retaliatory measures Hezbollah and Iran would take.

Yesterday, Hezbollah took major retaliatory action against Israel. However, no retaliatory measures have yet been observed from Iran.”

“For over 10 months, Israel has been conducting indiscriminate attacks on Gaza in Palestine. Diplomats have been making intense efforts for several weeks to prevent this war from evolving into a broader regional conflict.

There’s significant pressure from the United States for a deal to stop the Gaza war and release hostages. However, no visible progress has been made on an agreement so far.

The Israeli military claims, ‘They are prepared to fight on two fronts simultaneously. One is Gaza, the other is Lebanon.’

However, Hezbollah is much stronger than Hamas. Hezbollah has a stockpile of nearly 150,000 rockets. Some of these rockets are capable of striking anywhere in Israel.

Hezbollah fighters are more skilled, trained, and equipped with advanced gear compared to Hamas members. Many of them have experience fighting in Syria.

After fighting in Gaza for nearly a year, questions remain about whether Israel truly desires to start a full-scale conflict on another front.

Israel has called up thousands of reserve soldiers for the Gaza war. If Israel now engages in a full-scale war with Hezbollah as well, the resulting situation is a matter of consideration.

However, many Israelis, especially residents of northern Israel, are saying that Hezbollah must be dealt with properly. An appropriate response must be given.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, thousands of people have been evacuated from northern Israel to safe locations. As a result, many Israelis have lost their businesses.

On the other hand, thousands of people in southern Lebanon have been forced to leave their homes due to fear of Israeli attacks.

Hezbollah has already announced that the ‘first phase’ of retaliation for the killing of Commander Shukr has been completed. This implies that there are more phases of retaliation to come.”

“However, the damage in Israel from Hezbollah’s attacks has been relatively minimal. There have been some casualties on both sides.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said, 

‘They will assess the impact of rocket and drone attacks on Israeli military targets. After this assessment, Hezbollah will decide whether to carry out more attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of the organization’s commander Shukr.’

Israel believes it has successfully thwarted a large-scale attack by Hezbollah.

The question now is whether such cross-border conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah will continue, or if yesterday’s retaliatory attacks will lead to something more dangerous.

Leaders from both Israel and Hezbollah are saying that neither wants to engage in another all-out war.

However, both Israel and Hezbollah are also stating, ‘They are prepared for war.