Israel has moved from deterrence to an ‘offensive footing’
Daniel Levy, an analyst from the US-Middle East Project and former Israeli government negotiator, shares his thoughts with Al Jazeera about Israel’s strategy going forward. Here’s what he said:
On what is Israel doing in Lebanon after Nasrallah’s assassination:
- There’s an element of revenge and it’s seeking to restore a sense of deterrence.
- Israel has moved to an offensive footing now.
- The sense right now is that this is the attempt to actually remove the threat of the axis of resistance.
- The end game is not Iran, that’s the entry point to an end game with the Palestinians.
- Israelis are looking not just at individuals, but also weapon stocks.
On appetite for continued war within Israel:
- It’s also a question of capacity. Israel had a degree of exhaustion in terms of reserve units willing to show up.
- But they may be looking at this and saying, “never will we have a better opportunity, never will we have a society so willing to go along with this”.
Israeli ground operation very much on the table
The message from the Israelis is that it is operating from a position of inflated confidence, of victory, all guns blazing. Nothing will stop them.
A ground operation is very much on the table. The feeling from the military is now is the time, in the next couple of days if it gets authorised. They feel it’s time to seize on the momentum of the blows they have given to the group, that if you stop, Hezbollah will be allowed to regroup.
So I think you will have different voices within the establishment, whether to go in on the ground or continue where Israel really holds its upper hand, which is from the air.
The moment they enter with ground troops, it is a very different dynamic. Hezbollah will have the upper hand when it comes to the ground, they also have a whole underground tunnel system, just like Hamas, that is potentially more sophisticated.
Hezbollah’s been preparing for this for years.
Iran will respond if national security threatened: Foreign ministry
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says no “criminal acts” of Israel will be left unanswered, adding that “anyone who stands against Iran’s national security will undoubtedly receive a response from Iran.”
“We do not make empty promises, we have shown in practice that we stand firmly against aggressors who intend to violate Iran’s national security, and our response will be regretful for them,” Nasser Kanaani said during a news briefing.
“Iran will not leave any aggressive actions of the Zionist regime, which target Iran’s interests, unanswered. This regime will not go unpunished for the crimes it has committed, and Iran will take appropriate measures in response.”
