Israel Prepares for Potential Second Front in War Against Islamist Militants
ISRAEL – As Israel continues to battle against Islamist militants in Gaza, fears are rising of a potential second front opening up with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Officials in the hilly region of Shtula, located just over a mile from the Lebanese border, are preparing for the possibility that Hezbollah will join the fight.
Military forces have been positioned along the Israeli-Lebanese border, and civilians are being cleared from 28 communities within a buffer zone. Tanks and armored personnel carriers can be seen throughout the area, with military checkpoints sealing off the region. Both sides have exchanged fire multiple times since the surprise attack launched by Hamas infiltrators on October 7, which killed over 1,400 people.
Hezbollah claims that eight of their fighters have been killed in Israeli strikes since Tuesday, and an elderly couple was killed in a rural Lebanese town. An Israeli shell is believed to have killed a Reuters videographer last week, and the incident is currently under investigation. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have reported that at least five Israelis have been killed, including three soldiers in a shootout with a Hezbollah gunman who infiltrated the area. The lone civilian fatality was a Palestinian citizen of Israel who was hit while working at a construction site near the border fence.
The international community is concerned about the potential for a wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The United States has dispatched warships to the region in an attempt to deter Hezbollah and its Iranian allies from launching a full-scale attack. However, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the anger it has sparked in Lebanon and across the Arab world could push Hezbollah to escalate the situation.
Israeli forces have been deployed to the northern border in preparation for a potential attack. The IDF has stated that it is ready for every scenario, advising its enemies not to test its capability to defend itself. Civilians on both sides of the border, who can see and hear each other’s neighborhoods, are bracing themselves for the possibility of another war zone, similar to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Ahmed Deeb, the mayor of the Lebanese border village of Wazzani, has stated that Israeli shells have already landed on the outskirts of his town. However, many residents are too poor to leave, and they intend to stay. In Israel, thousands of civilians have already evacuated from the border area, while the remaining residents continue to monitor events.
The recent attack by Hamas gunmen has heightened fears in small northern towns, which are similar to the communities that were overrun by Hamas. These towns rely on a small armed security force of reservists and civilians as their first line of defense. In Shtula, these volunteer security members have remained behind in their deserted town, aware that they are ill-equipped to handle a similar attack. They are counting on the Israeli military to take on the brunt of the fight but have expressed their willingness to stay and help in any way they can.
As tensions continue to rise, the situation remains delicate, with the potential for further escalation on multiple fronts. The international community is closely monitoring the developments in both Gaza and on the Israeli-Lebanese border, hoping for a swift resolution to the conflicts.