Israel-Hezbollah Clashes Means ‘Greater War’ Likely

• CrossFireArabia
• September 14, 2024

Northern Israel is on fire. Hezbollah rockets fired from Southern Lebanon has been a constant reminder that a war-situation is here to stay and likely to develop.

A batch of 55 rockets were fired on Safad and the sorrounding areas adding to the scorching of the region. These rockets were launched from southern Lebanon and hit Israeli settlements and military bases in northern Israel adding to nervousness of the dwingling number of people who are still there.

They are just the latest batch at the wail of many sirens across northern Israel.

Since last night and into Saturday morning a total of 60 rockets fell on the area including over the border into Safad and Tiberius in the Upper Galilee and the vacuous Israel town of Kiryat Shmona,  the Israeli media reported.  

Fires raged in the different forest areas of this region soon after the rockets landed as testified by pictures and images on the social media adding to deep tensions and fear of a wider regional war.

The latest barrage of rockets was in retaliation for Israeli overnight airstrikes on towns in southern Lebanon which included the Beqaa and Nabatieh and which injured many Lebanese civilians.

The Israeli-Hezbollah crossfire clashes have increased in the passed few months but the upward momentum was noticed since the early summer. 

The Hebrew media has been rife in its reporting of the active northern front stating the Hezbollah rockets into these areas have become a routine affair. 

But this is a source of major worry for men like Benny Gantz who once served as a member in Netanyahu’s war cabinet but is now deeply at odds with him. 

‘Hit Hezbollah hard’

Gantz, a major contender for the Israeli leadership, says the present government needs to dampen its 11-month war on Gaza that killed over 41,000 civilians and to concentrate on the dangerous developments happening in northern Israel.

He said Israel must have an action plan and hit Hezbollah hard, adding the Israeli air force “has thousands of targets in Lebanon” Gantz said on Israel’s Channel 12. 

Meanwhile the cross-border war continues at its present tempo while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to leave Gaza but at the same time orders his military to maintain a war position on Hezbollah and southern Lebanon while continuing his strikes on different positions in Gaza.

But reports of the raging fires continue to be bad news for Israel. Hundreds of thousands have already left the north and are in temporary placements on hotels. The latest patch of fires are creating more displacements. One social media post points to the fact that 62,000 settler Israelis are fleeing the north for safety, pointing out that more than 40 percent of these wont return back.