Shifting Tides: Has Israel's Strategy Against Hezbollah Become a Colossal Military Blunder?

Shifting Tides: Has Israel's Strategy Against Hezbollah Become a Colossal Military Blunder
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By: H. Zaïm-Bashi


Amid the brutal aggression in Gaza---the longest and costliest war in the history of the Israeli regime---the Israeli military has expended immense human and financial resources only to suffer a catastrophic series of setbacks. Yet for Benjamin Netanyahu the crisis transcends the Gaza Strip----the southern front. Over the past 14 months Hezbollah’s engagement in the northern borders of occupied Palestine [Israel] has exposed the regime's profound geostrategic vulnerabilities rendering northern illegitimate Zionist settlements unsafe and forcing tens of thousands of its inhabitant ants into displacement placing extraordinary pressure on the government.

In a desperate attempt to extricate itself from this existential crisis the Israeli regime launched assaults on the southern suburb of Beirut and mostly Shiite-populated southern Lebanon. Aimed at neutralizing Hezbollah’s ballistic arsenal and infrastructure these operations instead expanded Hezbollah's reach of missile reach to cities such as Haifa and even Tel Aviv.

After two months Israel remained utterly incapable to capture southern Lebanese territories or diminish Hezbollah’s missile capabilities which continued to strike northern Israel and beyond. Ultimately; Israel was forced into a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon dictated by Hezbollah laying bare its abject failure to achieve its military and strategic objectives.

This ceasefire reveals glaring weaknesses within the Israeli military-political establishments---underscoring its helplessness to deliver on its declared goals.



i- A Crushing Military Defeat for Israel

Throughout the war Israeli officials repeatedly boasted of having destroyed up to 80% of Hezbollah’s missile capabilities—albeit deceptively as usual. However; the facts on the ground discredit these baseless claims. Far from being neutralized Hezbollah quickly recovered and launched increasingly potent missile and also drone strikes. I particular in the days leading up to the ceasefire the intensity of Hezbollah’s missile operations peaked with over 200 projectiles deployed across 50 coordinated targets only in a single day forcing nearly half of Israel’s population into shelters.



The ceasefire agreement came not as a result of Israeli military, but out of sheer necessity. The Israeli regime had failed not only to secure any hint of victory but also ineffective to facilitate the return of displaced settlers to the north--- a glaring disappointment that likely played a decisive role in Netanyahu’s reluctant acceptance of the truce deal. This military fiasco has shattered the myth of Israeli military invincibility irreversibly---revealing a new level of strategic and psychological vulnerability.



ii- A Diplomatic Mirage of Success for the United States

While Israel’s military debacle is now an incontrovertible fact; Washington has attempted to spin the ceasefire as a diplomatic success. The Washington Post hailed it as a triumph for the Biden administration attributing the truce to the tireless shuttle diplomacy of Amos J. Hochstein (the Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security). However; such claims ring hollow against the backdrop of the United States’ unwavering complicity in the Israeli regime’s atrocities in Gaza. Over the past 14 months the U.S. has facilitated arms transfers, and in the meantime, shielded Israel through vetoes at the United Nations Security Council [UNSC] and tacitly endorsed the slaughter of OVER 45.000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza. These hypocritical steps have undeniably tarnished Washington’s reputation both domestically and internationally rendering any attempt to frame the ceasefire as a “victory” for U.S. diplomacy disingenuous at best.



iii- Hezbollah: The Vanguard of Resistance

Through it all, Hezbollah’s status as the backbone of the Axis of Resistance remained unshaken. Its unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause refutes any claims that the ceasefire represents a retreat from the "unity of fronts" strategy. By delegating negotiations to the Lebanese government; Hezbollah ensured its operational liberty intact---thus, ready to counter any possible Israeli provocations.



In its post-ceasefire statement; Hezbollah declared its fighters would maintain full readiness to defend Lebanon’s territorial sovereignty and nation dignity and resist Israeli aggression. It also reiterated that its forces remain vigilant with their fingers on the trigger prepared to confront any Israeli encroachments. Moreover; Hezbollah reaffirmed its steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian cause vowing to continue the resistance with renewed determination and uphold Bait-ul-Muqaddas [Jerusalem] as the eternal symbol of Palestine's liberation.



Conclusion

This latest Israeli military defeat in Lebanon has exposed not only the regime’s conspicuous strategic miscalculations but also the growing potency of its adversaries, namely Hezbollah.

Far from achieving its goals; Israel’s faux pas have reinforced its image as a faltering power increasingly beset by its own domestic weaknesses and the unyielding resolve of a resistance from Palestinians---from River to Sea---that grows stronger with each confrontation.