“You can’t just kill Hezbollah”

Another air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, another high-ranking Hezbollah commander dead. On Tuesday, Suhail Hussein Husseini, a member of the Jihad Council and responsible for distributing arms supplies from Iran to the terrorist militia, was hit. With the pager attacks, the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah and the as yet unconfirmed killing of his designated successor, Israel has inflicted severe blows on the Shiite terrorist organization.

More soldiers

In addition to other important leadership cadres, around 250 officers – from platoon to battalion commanders – are said to have been killed. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that Hezbollah was “battered and broken.” Nevertheless, Israeli soldiers are encountering fierce resistance during their ground operation in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is likely to be strongly organized – and above all in cells that operate more or less independently of one another. At least until supplies of ammunition and weapons run out. And the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is massively increasing the number of its soldiers: On Tuesday, the IDF sent a fourth division to southern Lebanon – meaning more than 20,000 soldiers could now be fighting on the ground against Hezbollah.

This is just one of several fronts on which Israel is fighting: the war continues to rage in Gaza, the Houthis from Yemen are shelling Israel, as are militias loyal to Iran from Iraq – and Iran is still expecting a counterattack from Israel. In the course of the year-long war, Israel has killed numerous leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran. Israel has shown that it is superior to its enemies militarily and, above all, in terms of intelligence. But the question remains what comes next.

It is not yet clear what will happen next with the Gaza Strip once Hamas is finally defeated militarily. It will live on in the minds of the Palestinians – just as Hezbollah does in the minds of the Lebanese Shiites. And the situation in the West Bank will not calm down any time soon. Israel, in turn, is fighting for its survival – and against a numerically superior force.

“Hezbollah is a monster”

At the same time, criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become louder within the country itself. Relatives of the hostages who had been kidnapped for more than a year made the start. And there is always criticism that Netanyahu wants to save himself and his government with the operation in southern Lebanon. However, the prime minister also has his supporters who have long been calling for the threat of Hezbollah to be destroyed once and for all. “Hezbollah is a monster that you can’t just kill,” says Antoni to the KURIER, a Christian Lebanese who is about to emigrate.

The constant bombardments and the fear of further escalation drive him to follow the example of his friends and leave his home. “You can kill the commanders – new ones will come,” he says. Hezbollah has held Lebanon hostage – now the country is threatened with a final collapse. “The Israelis aren’t thinking about what will come next either.” Implementing UN Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah should be disarmed, would sound good, “but it hasn’t been done since 2006 and I don’t think so “That this can really succeed,” says Antoni.

By Editor

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