Will the Lebanon front open between Hezbollah and Israel during the Al-Aqsa Flood War?
The southern Lebanese border with occupied Palestine is witnessing a cautious calm amid the alert of members of the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Forces operating in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in anticipation of any escalation after the security incidents recorded during the past hours, in conjunction with the continuation of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation launched by the “Brigades.” Al-Qassam, the military arm of the Hamas movement, since Saturday morning.
This Sunday morning, Hezbollah targeted 3 Israeli occupation sites in the occupied Shebaa Farms area “on the road to liberating what remains of our occupied Lebanese land, and in solidarity with the victorious Palestinian resistance and the struggling and patient Palestinian people,” according to its statement.
Hezbollah indicated that “the sites are Al-Radar, Zibdin, and Ruwaisat Al-Alam, which were targeted by large numbers of artillery and guided missile shells, and the sites were hit directly.”
The Israeli occupation army responded by bombing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the Shebaa Farms, via a drone, according to its statement, including the tent that the party had set up some time ago, and it created several tensions between the two sides, noting that the party returned and set up a new tent at the site. itself instead of the one that was destroyed.
These events prompted the raising of several questions within the framework of the possibility of a military confrontation between Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation army, especially with the continuation of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Although Lebanese circles ruled out the opening of the southern Lebanese front with occupied Palestine, or that the party’s intention was to engage in a battle with the Israelis, especially since it chose to bomb Israeli sites in occupied Lebanese points, and not inside occupied Palestine, the statements of the senior leader in the Lebanese Hezbollah Hashem Safi al-Din, “that we are not neutral,” that “the bombing of Israeli positions in Shebaa is a message that the Israelis must carefully consider,” and that “Netanyahu must know that this battle is not just a battle for the people of Gaza and the West Bank,” keeps all scenarios open.
The head of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, Hashem Safi al-Din, said today, Sunday, addressing the Palestinian factions, “Our weapons and missiles are with you,” continuing his speech at an event held by the party in Beirut in solidarity with the Palestinians: “We say to these people: The nation is with you. Our hearts are with you, our minds are with you.” “With you, our souls are with you. Our history, our rifles and our missiles are with you.”
A message of solidarity and reaction
On the other hand, a member of the “Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc (which represents Hezbollah in Parliament), MP Hussein Jishi, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, “What happened today is understood in its timing as a message of solidarity with the resistance brothers and the Palestinian mujahideen, but it is also a reaction to the occupation.” The Israeli enemy is on Lebanese lands, and this is a natural thing in the performance of the resistance, hence the party’s choice to bomb occupied Lebanese lands to confirm our right to liberate our land.”
Jishi points out, “We as a resistance are always in a position of defense, preventing Israeli attacks, as we are concerned with liberating our land, and are responsible for that. Therefore, any development is linked to the Israeli performance and foolishness.”
The beginning of a collapse
For his part, a member of the “Development and Liberation Bloc” (headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri), MP Ashraf Baydoun, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, “The state of anticipation and caution undoubtedly continues, and it is not possible to predict what might happen, and whether the scene will… The day is over or not, but it is clear that the Israeli is preparing for a thousand before undertaking any military adventure towards Lebanon. He knows that any ill-considered step on his part will be costly and costly for him at all levels, and he is aware of the reaction to it.”
Baydoun points out that “it is our sacred right to defend our land and we will not remain silent about the occupation of any inch of it. If the Israelis do not understand any language to return the occupied lands other than the language of resistance, then let it be the language of resistance to liberate our land, and what happened today is nothing but a sacred and legitimate defense to recover what remains.” From the occupied Lebanese territories.
Baydoun believes that “the Israeli enemy is in a state of internal confusion and confusion, and has not yet been able to come to grips with what happened,” noting that “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is the beginning of the collapse of this usurping Zionist entity.”
In turn, the expert in military affairs, retired Brigadier General Hisham Jaber, points out in his interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “what happened is unprecedented in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the timing was chosen carefully, as the operation coincided with Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement).” On the anniversary of the 1973 October War, we are witnessing for the first time an integrated and exceptional military operation.”
While Jaber believes that “no one can predict whether a war will happen or not… the fireball may roll at any time, but all indicators indicate that the southern front will not be opened, and this process is not easy, as Israel is unable to open the battle and is not prepared for it.” Hezbollah is also not willing to open it. As for what happened in terms of artillery shelling and the Israeli response in the area of the Shebaa Farms and Kafar Shuba, it was expected and anticipated, and within the framework of the above, it has happened more than once in the past periods.”
Jaber says, “The situation in which a military battle could be opened is if Israel starts its war on southern Lebanon, and then the response will be from Hezbollah. Otherwise, things are unlikely to develop, and will remain limited to bombing from here and a response from there.”
As for the Lebanese diplomat, former ambassador Hisham Hamdan, he told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “Hezbollah is too conscious to open the Lebanon front, and it is fully aware that what is happening in occupied Palestine is greater than a tactical operation, but rather a decisive operation, and entering into such a This battle will not serve him or bring any benefit to him,” considering that “the operations that serve the Palestinians in the occupied territories are through the Golan front and not Lebanon.”
Hamdan believes that “Hezbollah’s targeting of Shebaa Farms means targeting a Lebanese area occupied by the enemy, and the purpose of this step is to convey a message that our response or action is limited, and may be to save face.”
Hamdan believes that “what is happening in occupied Palestine and Gaza in particular is writing a new history in the region, and its consequences will not be limited only to the level of occupied Palestine, but will have implications for everything that prepares and establishes the phase of the new Middle East.”
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2023-10-08 14:20:24
