Smoke rises over the skies of the Lebanese village of Tayr Harfa on the Israeli border amid ongoing cross-border tensions (French)
According to a report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the occupation army achieved military victories against Hezbollah on the Lebanese front, but Israel failed to turn these victories into strategic gains.
The report, written by military analyst Amos Harel, listed the IDF's military operations against Hezbollah over the past three months, saying that overall they have pushed Radwan Force, Hezbollah's elite force, slightly away from the border between Lebanon and Israel, but the group is still capable of carrying out daily attacks.
In addition, Harel said that Radwan Force positions were destroyed along the border with Israel and Hezbollah military installations were damaged deep inside Lebanese territory, and that a large part of Hezbollah forces had withdrawn from the border, fighting from the rear lines for fear of incurring further losses.
In his account, he noted that a number of political and military leaders affiliated with Hizbullah, Hamas and Iran have been killed in the past two weeks, as well as about 160 militants from Hezbollah and Hamas.
No compromises
Yet Israel has not yet been able to translate these tactical achievements into strategic achievements, in the sense of forcing Hezbollah to change its positions on the war, or make concessions in its favor.
Harel added that what is happening from Hezbollah so far is contrary to expectations, as the party insists on continuing its daily attacks and is happy with the price paid by Israel, after it evacuated about 60,<> civilians from towns and other communities on the border.
It is difficult to assess whether the losses suffered by Hezbollah are considered by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as a high price, he said, adding that the party's sensitivity to losses is higher than Hamas, but at the same time he wants to show the depth of its commitment to the Palestinian war effort, even if it refuses to enter into all-out war.
All-out confrontation
The Israeli army continues to assert that Hezbollah and Iran want to avoid a regional war, but the increased frequency and intensity of events reduces the room for maneuver for Israel and Hezbollah.
When the region is very tense, and every few hours a relatively serious incident occurs, no one can be sure that it will not end in an all-out confrontation.
The United States is trying to stop the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and prevent a slide into a full-blown war, but there is no evidence so far that Amos Hochstein, the envoy of President Joe Biden's administration who was sent to the region in the hope of settling border disputes between Israel and Lebanon, has achieved any success.
Source: Haaretz