Escalation Of Israeli Vs Hezbollah Attacks And Full-Scale Regional War Threats

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showcased his victory after the military succeeded in killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech at the UN General Assembly. (AFP)

JAKARTA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims to have won after his military killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. This he revealed at the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York, Friday (27/9/2024) evening local time.

"I brought another message to the general table this time and the world out there: We won," Netanyahu said on top of the UN General Assembly.

On the same occasion, Netanyahu is also determined to continue to attack Lebanon to kill the Hezbollah militia. Yet now many countries are pushing for a ceasefire between Israel vs Hezbollah in Lebanon and in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah's death as a result of Israeli airstrikes targeting the capital Beirut, Lebanon, has been confirmed by Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah's death was called a crushing blow, although not as Hezbollah's defeat, some observers said.

The pro-Iran militia group has been involved in fierce wars with Israel in recent weeks. As an ally of Hamas, Hezbollah has ambitions to attack Israel until they leave Palestine and stop attacking the Gaza Strip.

Until then, the terror of thousands of pagers exploded mysteriously throughout Lebanon. Lebanon and Hezbollah believe this terror was masterminded by Israel sabotaging and tapping pagers and other communications tools in the country with explosives.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses a path of war, Israel has no other choice, and Israel has full right to remove this threat and safely repatriate our citizens to their homes," Netanyahu said.

"Israel has tolerated this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I came here today to say that's enough," he added as quoted by Reuters.

The conflict that has occurred between the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israel for months, even years, has been exacerbated by Israel's continuing attacks on Gaza. Now, a massive war between Hezbollah and Israel is taking place, making the conflict in the Middle East even more complicated.

Over the past two or so weeks, there has been a dramatic increase in the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. On September 23, using the majority of Israel's air force, more than 1,300 targets were attacked across Lebanon, but mostly in the Southern region. This is the most intense attack ever in years.

Four days later, Secretary-General Hezbollah Hassan Nasollah was killed, along with a group of senior commanders he met, when 85 bunker-destroying bombs were dropped on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

According to the latest data Sunday (29/9/2024), the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said at least 105 people died and 359 people were injured in an Israeli attack on Lebanon. However, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and missiles at Israeli targets.

Hezbollah, reported by Al Jazeera, has been preparing this scenario for years and has deployed its rocket power across the country.

Through this repeated attack, Israel sent a signal that they were serious about challenging Hezbollah. However, what did Netanyahu claim that Israel had won the battle after killing Nasrullah was true?

Not really, according to Al Jazeera. Killing Nasrallah doesn't mean destroying Hezbollah because destroying Hezbollah is very unlikely.

Hezbollah is one of the world's most complete non-armed military forces. This force is funded and equipped by Iran. Hezbollah claims to have 100,000 personnel, although independent estimates vary between 20 thousand and 50 thousand personnel.

They have many personnel well trained and resilient in combat. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates Hezbollah has 120 to 200 thousand missile rockets. Fighting Hezbollah will only make them stronger, because it is impossible to eradicate Hezbollah.

Nasrallah's death will also not make Benjamin Netanyahu's target in Gaza easier to achieve because of the ability of Hamas, a Palestinian militant soldier, to fight never depend on Hezbollah. And if Netanyahu decides to carry out a land invasion of southern Lebanon with the aim of crippling Hezbollah, this move is allegedly going to benefit Hamas, not only militarily but also politically. Increasing mortality, destruction and evacuation rates will make Israel even smaller and get more criticism from around the world.

The Israeli and Hezbollah conflicts have the potential to attract other countries to participate. Israel's allies, the United States (US) announced that they would deploy additional troops to the region, without specifying how much and for what purpose. The US currently has around 40 thousand intermediaries in the region. Meanwhile, Hezbollah-Iran has been working together since Hezbollah stood in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired missiles at Israel in response to Israel's deadly attacks on people in Gaza, the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan last week in Beirut, as well as the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July.

Several observers have warned that the Middle East is heading for a regional war since Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip, which killed 41 thousand Palestinians since October 2023. Read Jarrar, director of advocacy at US-based non-profit DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now), said the Middle East is currently in a full-scale regional war that will not end without a change in American policy.

"This will not stop without the US taking action and saying, 'We will not send more weapons to Israel. We will not fund and assist Israel's crimes," he said.

Meanwhile, Omar Rahman, a member of the Middle East Global Affairs Council, said there was "there was no doubt" that Israel would respond to Iran's attacks. "They will take countermeasures, which will trigger a greater war," said Rahman.

He added that Israel tried to invite war through its actions over the past few months. Rahman assessed that Israel was capable of massive destruction as seen in Lebanon.

"Iran, in my opinion, has tried to avoid this, but now they are heading towards war with Israel," Rahman concluded.