Netanyahu Changes Hezbollah

In a pre-recorded televised speech following the "pager attack" that targeted his party on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hassan Nasrallah said: "We are rational" in a broken tone. He acknowledged Israel's technological superiority, justifying this disparity by pointing to the fact that the United States, the West, and NATO are backing Israel.
Nasrallah also affirmed that the "pager attack" was a "heavy and bloody blow that has tested us." He then added that "we certainly suffered a significant intelligence and military blow unprecedented in the history of the resistance and in the history of Lebanon."
He pledged to retaliate. "As for the severe reckoning, you will see it on the news, not hear about it, and we will share our plans with only a small circle." However, after his speech, his party was dealt a crippling blow: Israel liquidated the commanders of the Radwan Force as they were holding a meeting in the heart of the southern suburbs (Dahiyah) of Beirut.
These successive blows Israel dealt to Hezbollah in just three days tell us one thing: Benjamin Netanyahu is not only changing the facts on the ground in Gaza but also reshaping and restructuring Hezbollah.
Moreover, not only is he (Netanyahu) changing the rules of engagement in Lebanon, he is changing the rules of war across the region, savagely using Israel’s military machinery and playing all his strong intelligence cards by targeting leaders previously thought to be untouchable.
Israel’s superior intelligence capabilities were also evident from the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as well as the assassinations of Hamas’s Saleh al-Arouri and Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburbs. Then, last Thursday, Israel eliminated the leaders of the Radwan unit at the highest levels.
Yes, the technological gap between Israel and its adversaries is clear, but so is the power imbalance. The scale of international support for Israel is even more obvious, especially from Washington, which announced that it would be deploying the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier near the Lebanese coast.
This support is not only reflected in actions. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made a noteworthy statement yesterday (Saturday). He expressed concern about the escalation between Israel and Lebanon but made clear that justice was served when Israel killed a senior Hezbollah leader, according to Reuters.
Accordingly, the question becomes: is Hassan Nasrallah, or the party, as rational as he claimed? I doubt it! It is even less rational than Iran, which has been doing the impossible to avoid a confrontation with Israel that would drag the United States into the battle, which is clearly an Israeli objective.
To that end, the Iranian Supreme Leader said that negotiating with the enemy is acceptable and that there is no harm in tactical retreat. We also heard Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian say that "with its assassination of Haniyeh, Israel sought to drag us into a regional war, but we exercised restraint," describing the Americans as "brothers."
Thus, Netanyahu is now proceeding to impose new facts on the ground, change the rules of the conflict, and seek to drag Washington into the battle. Everyone understands this, including Iran, and the only party caught between the jaws of provocation, humiliation, and signaling strength is Hezbollah.
This is the opportunity Netanyahu has been seeking. If a broader war on Lebanon breaks out, the party will be structurally devastated. If it does not, Netanyahu will still have transformed Hezbollah, or rather, destroyed it systemically.
This is the clear picture that the party cannot see right now due to the severity of the blows and shocks it has been dealt.