Hezbollah vs Israel: the Makings of a Regional War?

By David Starr

 

With all the mass murder and attempted genocide against Palestinians, Israel surprisingly is willing to use diplomacy in its dealings with Hezbollah, a well-equipped and highly-trained force in Lebanon.

 

In a Reuters report, Israel has said it has plans to try and resolve its conflict with Hezbollah, according to Israel’s national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi. But Israel has already done the damage in Gaza with its collective punishment of Palestinians. There were rumblings coming out of the fascist Israeli government about attacking Lebanon in another potential attempt to exercise collective punishment. Killing of civilians, and many of them, has been Israel’s goal all along.

 

Quoting Reuters: “Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel from the north shortly after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.” This is a little misleading because Reuters doesn’t get to the root causes of Hamas’ attack, which are the occupation and settlements that have been imposed on Palestinians since 1948. 

 

Again, quoting Reuters: “Shelling on Israel’s northern border has led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from areas on both sides of the frontier, and has escalated in recent weeks, leading to fears of an all-out conflict.” While this is nothing to laugh at, Palestinians have had to move to several locations in Gaza where the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) made assurances that there would be safe zones, but then, wound up conducting airstrikes on them.

 

An all-out conflict is another example of cause-and-effect, where Israel has maintained its occupation and settlements, and has invaded not only Gaza, but the West Bank, as well as annexing territory from neighboring countries. Iran, despite having a theocracy (although Israel’s theocracy is no better), has shown alarm at Israel’s attempted genocide in Gaza, and the West Bank to a lesser degree. Perhaps Iran’s backing of Hezbollah is necessary due to the mass murder committed by Israel, although Hezbollah adheres to religious extremism itself. Besides land being one of the major factors in the Israel-Hamas conflict, religion also is a trigger.

 

Because of the tit-for-tat military actions committed by Hezbollah and Israel, the USA has put new sanctions on Iran. Where are the sanctions against Israel, seeing it has been far worse in its military conduct? No, U.S. officials still let Israel off the hook because of their “special relationship.”

 

Posting on Twitter (X), Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz is supportive of U.S. sanctions:

 

“I welcome sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department on the shadow financial networks of Iran’s Defense Ministry and of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It is an important step in the fight against the Iranian regime and its efforts to finance terror…”

 

Katz, like other Israeli officials, rhetorically exercise an Orwellian hypocrisy to the point of insanity. Israeli officials and their supporters have hysterically blamed Hamas for everything during the war, although Israel has done most of the damage. They, then, try to play the victim, which has been a series of lies. Israel is the main bully in this war.

 

In a summary published in Haaretz, “Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that ‘The greatest threat to the future of the world and of our region is Iran – and time is running out.’” But Austin said the USA has been wanting to prioritize a diplomatic solution to the tense situation between Hezbollah and Israel.

 

Gee, that’s real noble of the USA considering it has continued to militarily fuel the war between Hamas and Israel, with all the deaths and suffering. Initially, the USA said it was considering the idea to aid Israel against Hezbollah, and thus, with the consequence of widening the conflict into a regional war. The USA also communicated with Lebanese officials, according to the Middle East Eye: “In his meetings in Beirut, US envoy Amos Hochstein delivered ‘blunt’ warnings that Israel is preparing to launch a limited offensive on Hezbollah and will have the US’s support if a diplomatic solution isn’t found, a senior Arab official told the Middle East Eye.”

 

Regarding Gallant’s claim that Iran is a threat to the world, the reality has shown that Israel is being the aggressor compared to Iran, with the help of the USA. Saying that Iran is a world threat comes off as a scare tactic to justify Israel’s continuing hostility, despite the gestures by Israel to want diplomacy. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has favored diplomacy, but only if there’s a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. But Israel will not stop its aggression in order to get rid of Hamas. That’s already proven to be a failure since it is precisely Israel’s attempt at genocide that, ironically, allows Hamas to recruit more people. There’s a lot of pissed off Palestinians.

 

Quoting the Middle East Eye, “Hochstein warned that once fighting in Gaza pauses, Israeli officials intend to turn their full focus to the northern border with the aim of pushing Hezbollah back from the area so the roughly 60,000 – 96,000 displaced Israelis can return to their homes before the start of school in the fall.” So, Israelis would have schools to go back to while the schools in Gaza have been virtually destroyed.

 

The Middle East Eye reports that “Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah doubled down on military action saying Hezbollah has ‘a complete bank of targets,’ against Israel that include in the Mediterranean.” Nasrallah declared that, “The enemy should expect us on land, sea and air, and we will fight without restraints, rules or limits.” According to the Arab official, who claimed anonymity, Hochstein warned Lebanese officials that “[t]he US will stand by Israel and not condemn them publicly if it launches an offensive against Hezbollah.” Further, the USA says that it will fully back its “ally” if the fighting doesn’t stop after five weeks. So, U.S. officials would still support Israel after it has committed war crimes. And after sanctioning other countries, the USA lets Israel off the hook.

 

Of course, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu leads the fascists in the Israeli government, along with their supporters. Netanyahu wants to “finish the job” in defeating Hamas, which isn’t likely. In regards to Iran, Netanyahu has a special hatred for it. In CounterPunch, Daniel Beaumont writes, “Netanyahu has been spoiling for a war with Iran for a long time, and since October 7 he has seeking ways to drag the US into another war in the Middle East. While Biden said the US would fully back Israel in its confrontation with Iran, he also cautioned Netanyahu.”

 

Cautioned? That’s it? This is like other “concerns” Biden has expressed which have not amounted to anything. Israel still continues its aggression in Gaza and the West Bank and Biden refuses to put sanctions on Israel. A potential war between Israel and Iran would produce more of the same rhetoric coming from U.S. officials. No sanctions, no stopping of military aid to Israel, and no ceasefire; and a half-hearted attempt at diplomacy. 

 

Beaumont quotes Benny Gantz, a “moderate” who left Netanyahu’s war cabinet: “Israel against Iran, the world against Iran. This is the result. That is a strategic achievement which we must leverage for Israel’s security.” Beaumont writes, “Whether he actually believes this I don’t know. But if he does he is deluding himself.” Hezbollah and its backer Iran would be more than enough for Israel to handle. So, enter U.S. imperialism.

 

Gantz’s claim about the world against Iran is a flight from reality. It’s more like the world against Israel, with one exception: the USA. With Israel’s and Netanyahu’s war crimes, Beaumont further writes, “It makes apparent the real obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict is solely Israel.”

 

And Beaumont sizes up Netanyahu: “He has espoused and worked purposely against a two-state solution. He has tolerated and even collaborated with Hamas. He is the most arrogant and duplicitous politician in the world. [Netanyahu should be charged] “for crimes against humanity.”

 

Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted a statement on social media and it was quoted by Al Jazeera: “Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war, the consequence of which would be the destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure as well as the 1948 occupied territories.”

 

Further, “Undoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime. Hezbollah has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon – perhaps the time for self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come.” Yes, strong words but it specifies the fascist Israeli government itself, and not all Jews.

 

It remains a tense situation between Hezbollah and Israel. Hopefully, there won’t be a wider war that would engulf the region.