What would a war between Israel and Hezbollah look like?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Kiryat Shmona during a situational assessment of escalating tensions with Hezbollah in Israel
The American news website Foreign Policy published today (Wednesday) estimates and analysis about Israel's next war against Hezbollah, from which it appears that Israel's air defense systems may not be able to cope with the amount of missiles that will be launched from Lebanon.
In fact, Hezbollah is the most armed non-state organization in the world. Estimates suggest that the terrorist organization has about 130,000 missiles that could quickly overwhelm Israel's air defense systems and hit the largest cities in the country.
Devastating for both sides
On the other hand, the escalation would likely be devastating for Lebanon too; Hezbollah would essentially be acting as a "state within a state", and Israel would be in response attack Beirut and other large cities.
A senior US official said that even if both sides hope to avoid war, they could be accidentally dragged into it: "What worries me every day is a miscalculation or an accident, a stray missile intended for a certain target but hitting something else. This could force the systems in each of the countries to react in a way that would lead to war."
Firefighters respond to a fire near a rocket attack from Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, June 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
Firefighters respond to a fire near a rocket attack from Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, June 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
This week US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that although he believes neither side is interested in a wider war, "there is potential for it to go in that direction". Foreign Minister Israel Katz noted that Israel is close to making a decision about going to war, and warned that "in an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will suffer a severe blow."