Israel’s military, worn down by Gaza, looks warily toward war in Lebanon
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Beneath the posturing, though, there are growing fears within Israel that its soldiers are overstretched and its resources depleted after the country’s longest war in decades. Nine months of punishing attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip have not vanquished the group, and a politically embattled Netanyahu has yet to outline an exit strategy. In Lebanon, Israel would face a larger, better-armed and more-professional foe, experts warn, and the threat of an even deeper military quagmire.
Israel has been fighting on two fronts since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Within hours, fighters from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed political movement and militant group that is allied with Hamas, began launching attacks on northern Israel from Lebanon — the start of a tit-for-tat border conflict that has escalated, and spread deeper into both countries, with each passing month.
Hezbollah’s known rocket and missiles
Max. range (in miles)
Reported attacks since Oct. 7
Incidents include airstrikes and
shelling, as well as drone, artillery
and missile attacks.
Note: The Golan Heights were seized by Israel in 1967
and illegally annexed in 1981.
Source: ACLED. Data as of June 28
Hezbollah’s known rocket and missiles
Max. range (in miles)
Reported attacks since Oct. 7
Incidents include airstrikes and
shelling, as well as drone, artillery
and missile attacks.
Note: The Golan Heights were seized by Israel in 1967
and illegally annexed in 1981.
Source: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Data as of June 28.
Reported attacks since Oct. 7
Incidents include airstrikes and
shelling, as well as drone, artillery
and missile attacks.
( Annexed by Israel
in 1981. Not internationally
recognized.)
Source: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Data as of June 28.
Israel says it is transitioning to a less intensive combat phase in Gaza, and it has resumed negotiations in Cairo over a possible hostage-release deal. But Hezbollah insists it will not lay down its arms, or consider retreating from the Israeli border, until a cease-fire is in place in the Strip.
Both Israel and Hezbollah say they would prefer a diplomatic solution, but neither seem prepared to make the kind of concessions such a solution would require. The result is a strained stasis,…
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