Israel is waging a law intensity war against Hezbollah in Lebanon by assassinating its suspected members and fighters taking advantage of the Iran-backed party’s inability to retaliate to the attacks to avoid the eruption of an all-out war again.
Israel has carried out assassinations against Hezbollah south and north of Litani since the ceasefire in the war took effect in November.
The party appears to be restricted by the conditions imposed by the ceasefire and its new weakened position in Lebanon, leaving the Lebanese state with the responsibility to handle Israeli violations.
In its latest attack on Hezbollah, Israel said on Saturday that it assassinated a member who “had taken part in terrorist activity” in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel is imposing through its attacks a buffer zone along the border with Lebanon that is largely empty of civilians given the extent of the damage incurred in the war.
Israel is expanding the area of its attacks slightly north of the border by targeting people suspected of being Hezbollah members or even supporters, they added.
Figures close to Hezbollah said Israel is taking advantage of the “green light” given to it by the international community to go ahead with its attacks in Syria, Gaza and southern Lebanon, where it is violating the ceasefire and United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.
It is also exploiting the political restrictions that are “tying Hezbollah’s hands” in Lebanon that do not allow the party to respond to the Israeli attacks.
The new conditions imposed by the war have forced Hezbollah to join political work and suspend military activities, while continuing to refuse to lay down its weapons.
The party is coming under Lebanese and international pressure to refrain from retaliating to the Israeli attacks that could prompt Tel Aviv to launch a wide-scale war against Lebanon again.
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem had days earlier said the party is committed to the ceasefire and will not give Israel excuses to violate it.
Hezbollah’s opponents told Asharq Al-Awsat that the party is being restricted from acting given the new president and government in Lebanon.
Hezbollah does not want to become embroiled in a confrontation with them, they stressed, so it is “placing its cards with the state.”
Should the state fail in stopping the Israeli violations, and should diplomacy also fail, then it may resort to discussing a defense strategy that would include Hezbollah.
Another area that is restricting Hezbollah is the reconstruction of areas destroyed by Israel during the war.
Should Hezbollah violate the ceasefire, then the international community may consider holding back any financing of reconstruction, said the sources.
Moreover, the party is being restricted by its own Shiite popular base. A new war would risk their displacement yet again and jeopardize their support to Hezbollah, they added.
