Official-Israel Wants To Hurt Hezbollah, But Does Not Seek All-Out War

Wires carrying comments from an unnamed Israeli defence official. Says that 'Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah, but does not seek an all-out regional war'. Two officials claim that 'Israel is preparing for the possibility of a few days of fighting' following the rocket strike on the Druze community town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on 27 July that killed 12 children and young people. Israel lays the blame at the feet of Hezbollah, but the Iranian-backed group has denied responsibility.

• The Times of Israel reports that two have been killed and three injured in a drone strike in southern Lebanon. The IDF has not commented on the incident, but a retaliatory strike would fit the modus operandi of Israel responding to an attack on its territory.
• Incidents involving Hezbollah and Israeli forces have become more commonplace since Oct 2023, with Hezbollah saying that it will continue to strike Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza.
• While the war in Gaza has been largely self-contained, a full-scale conflict between the IDF and Hezbollah would risk a much broader regional destabilisation. Hezbollah is a much larger force in terms of manpower compared to Hamas, and has a much larger and more advanced arsenal of rockets, missiles, and small arms.
• A Hezbollah-Israel war would risk other countries in the region being drawn in, with the largest risk being direct conflict between Isral and Iran.