The burning Israeli-Lebanese front in the Middle East has become the epicenter of hostilities, almost overshadowing the situation in Gaza. In the Galilee, sirens have blared continuously from rockets fired by Hezbollah, and the Israelis have responded with massive air strikes in Lebanon .
IDF fighter jets also flew low over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier, in a gesture of defiance to the speech of Hassan Nasrallah , who was expected to vow revenge for the massive sabotage of his militias' pagers and walkie-talkies .
“It was a declaration of war by Israel ,” thundered the Shiite leader, without however announcing a large-scale counterattack for the moment. “ The punishment will come, but we will not say when and where ,” was his only warning.
This was followed by the green light from the Israeli general staff to the battle plans for the northern border. The counting of victims is not yet complete, after the surprising operation that in two days has put Hezbollah in check by blowing up thousands of communication devices throughout the country and also in Syria, causing at least forty deaths and three thousand injuries. An action not claimed by the Jewish state, but with the distinctive features of the Mossad . Nasrallah himself, in the speech broadcast on TV from a secret location, admitted that Hezbollah "has suffered a hard blow, without precedent" . At the same time he accused the enemy of having "crossed all the red lines" by targeting "areas crowded with civilians".
His incendiary rhetoric against Israel did not, however, lead to the announcement of a military escalation. Nasrallah limited himself to promising that the "Lebanese front will remain open until the aggression against Gaza ends" and that there will be retaliation, without specifying, however, when and where.
Nasrallah's speech was the subject of evaluation during a meeting called by Benyamin Netanyahu with his ministers, but the Jewish state continues to push with the declared objective of bringing back to their homes the 60 thousand residents who fled from the border areas, where today two Israeli soldiers were killed . In recent days the government, starting with the prime minister, has repeated that a "fundamental change" is needed for security in the north, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of a " new phase of the war in which operations will continue ."
(Online Union)
