The Israeli military carried out what it described as a “targeted strike” Friday in Beirut as tension between Hezbollah and Israel continues to develop.
Israel has not publicly stated who the target was in the strike, whether the target was killed, and whether there were any civilian casualties. It came after Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles, rockets, missiles, and drones, though Israeli military officials said they were able to intercept some of them.
Israel and Hezbollah have been enemies for several decades, having fought their last major war against each other nearly two decades ago. Tensions dramatically rose following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, and in nearly a year since then, the two sides have engaged in a limited conflict that has, at times, appeared on the verge of boiling over. This week has been the latest moment when both Israel and Hezbollah’s attacks seem to be pushing them closer to an all-out war.
Israel is believed to be responsible for an elaborate operation to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications devices earlier this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Hezbollah operatives’ beepers and walkie-talkies, which the perpetrator put explosives in, detonated in controlled blasts. More than 20 people were killed over the two days of attacks, and thousands were wounded.
Some civilians were injured and a couple killed in the attack, though Hezbollah’s ranks largely took the brunt of the casualties.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Wednesday that “we are at the start of a new phase in the war — we are allocating resources and forces to the northern arena,” though he did not clarify what the new phase would include.
Some, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warned that Israel’s beeper operation could be the precursor to an Israeli ground invasion into southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is largely located there, despite the 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution that ended their last war. It prevents the group from maintaining a presence south of the Litani River, located roughly 18 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border.
Defense Department deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Thursday that the United States remained committed to helping Israel’s self-defense but would not support an Israeli invasion of Lebanon with U.S. troops.
“We’re not going in and supporting offensive ground operations in what they do, whether it be in the north or in Gaza,” she said. “And the president has been very clear that you’re not going to have U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza.”
Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah described the communications attack as “a major assault on Lebanon, its security and sovereignty, a war crime — an act of war,” in a major speech Thursday, and he said the attacks dealt an “unprecedented blow” to Hezbollah and Lebanon.
The Biden administration has desperately sought to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from spiraling into a regional war dating back to the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas terrorists killed roughly 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 or so, about 100 of whom are still being held in Gaza. Shortly after the attack, Hezbollah began launching rockets and missiles over the Israel-Lebanon border.
Given Hamas’s raid into the border communities, Israel evacuated tens of thousands of civilians from their homes near the country’s northern border with Lebanon, fearing that they could emulate Hamas’s ground attack. Those families are still displaced from their homes as the northern communities remain unoccupied.
Israeli leaders have cited the ongoing displacement of those who live in the north as a primary goal of their operations against Hezbollah. Lebanon has also had to evacuate tens of thousands of people near the Israel border.
Experts believe an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah to be one that would result in significant destruction and casualties to both sides. Hezbollah’s arsenal and capabilities are much larger than that of Hamas. Hezbollah has precision-guided weapons with ranges that could put much of Israel under attack.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Gallant, several times this week. Austin noted “the devastating consequences that escalation would have on the people of Israel, Lebanon, and the broader region,” according to a readout from one of their calls this week from Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder.
Ryder said in a subsequent readout that the secretary “expressed his concern over the current escalation of exchanges between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah. He emphasized the importance of making every possible effort to reach a diplomatic resolution that ends Hezbollah attacks and permits residents on both sides of the border to return safely to their homes.”
Austin’s sentiment that Israel should pursue a “diplomatic resolution” to end the tension with Hezbollah is in line with the administration’s position, though Israel’s continued attacks against the group suggest it may view military means as the best way to achieve a long-term detente.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated its belief that getting a ceasefire finalized between Israel and Hamas would have far-reaching impacts in the region, including a simmering of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. However, U.S. officials said earlier this week that they have struggled getting both sides to agree to the final bits and pieces of the deal.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. was not notified ahead of time about Friday’s strike.