ISRAEL FACES SETBACKS IN WAR WITH HEZBOLLAH

The Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon faced several serious setbacks in recent days, with the group escalating its attacks. On October 10, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched heavy strikes against the Lebanese capital, Beirut, with the aim of assassinating Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit chief. However, the official survived the strikes, which reportedly killed 22 civilians and left more than a hundred others wounded. Later on the same day, the IDF acknowledged a reservist from the Alon Brigade’s 5030th Battalion was killed while fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. On October 11, the IDF pushed the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade into southern Lebanon to expand group operations against Hezbollah. The group launched on the same day a drone attack against the central Israeli settlement of Herzliya, which is located around five kilometers to the north of Tel Aviv city. The attack caused fires and blackouts. However, no casualties were reported. Hezbollah launched another drone attack on central Israel on October 13, this time targeting the IDF’s Zar’it barracks near the settlement of Binyamina. The attack claimed the lives of four troops and left more than 60 others wounded. All the casualties were from the elite Golani Brigade. Also on October 13, the IDF captured an alleged fighter of Hezbollah while operating in southern Lebanon. This added a new layer of complexity to the conflict as the group maintains a strict policy of freeing all Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails at any cost. Earlier on the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to withdraw its peacekeeping force from southern Lebanon. The demand came after a series of Israeli attacks that left several peacekeepers wounded. On October 14, the group attacked central Israel again, firing multiple precision-guided ballistic missiles at the suburbs of Tel Aviv city. The IDF alleged that all missiles were intercepted by its air defenses. However, there were reports of fires. The next day, October 15, Hezbollah announced that its air defenses shot down two Hermes 450 combat drones of the IDF over Lebanon and northern Israel. The IDF said on the same day that it was deploying another unit, the Division 210, in southern Lebanon to support ground operations against Hezbollah. The confrontation between Hezbollah and the IDF has so far claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Israel and Israeli-occupied territory. In Lebanon, over 2,300 people have been killed. Despite the heavy human cost, Israel is not showing any sign of backing down. In addition, Hezbollah is unlikely to accept a ceasefire without an end to the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip. Due to these facts, the confrontation will not likely end any time soon.