On The Lebanese Border, Israel-Hezbollah's Deadly Patience Game

JAKARTA - In remote villages and areas near the southern border of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters watched each other for months, changing and adapting in combat. They are waiting for each other to see if a full-scale war will occur.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, both sides have launched rocket attacks, artillery, missile fire, and airstrikes every day in a deadlock that has just stopped a full-scale war.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from both sides of the border, and the hope of children returning at the start of the new school year in September appears to be dashed following Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch's announcement on Tuesday, the condition is not possible.

War is almost the same over the past nine months, Lieutenant Colonel Dotan, an Israeli officer, who can only be identified under his first name.

"We had good days attacking Hezbollah and bad days when they attacked us. Almost the same, throughout the year, for nine months," he added.

As summer approaches its peak, drone smoke trails and rockets in the sky have become a daily sight, and missiles regularly trigger forest fires in dense forested hills along the border.

Israeli attacks killed nearly 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, including medics, children and journalists, while 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Even so, as cross-border shooting continues, Israeli forces have trained for possible attacks in Lebanon that will dramatically increase the risk of a wider regional war, which may involve Iran and the United States.

The risk was increasingly seen over the weekend as Yemen-based Houthi groups, the same militia as Hezbollah and supported by Iran, sent drones to Tel Aviv that caused an explosion that killed a man and prompted Israel to launch a counter-attack the following day.

Standing in the kibbutz of his home in Eilon, where only about 150 farmers and security guards remain from the normal population of 1,100 people, Lt. Col. Dotan said both sides had tested each other for months, in a growing tactical battle.

"This war teaches us patience," Dotan said.

"In the Middle East, you need patience," he said.

He said Israeli forces saw increased use of Iranian drones, the type often seen in Ukraine, as well as Russia-made Kornet anti-tank missiles targeting homes as Israeli tank troops adjusted their own tactics in response.

"Hezbollah is an organization that learns quickly and they understand that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are the next big thing so they buy and get training on UAVs," continued Dotan.

Israel responded by adapting the Iron Dome air defense system and focusing its operations on weakening the structure of the Hezbollah organization by attacking its experienced commander, such as Ali Jaafar Maatuk, a field commander in the unit of Radwan's elite forces who were killed last week.

"So that's another weak point we found. We targeted them and looked for them every day," he said.

Even so, over time, waiting for Israeli troops was not easy with the rapid doctrine of maneuvering and offensive operations.

"When you survive, you can't beat the enemy. We understand that, we have no expectations," Dotan said.

"So we have to wait. This is a game of patience," he said.