Hizbullah responded to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in late February by firing rockets into northern and central Israel. The IDF answered with large-scale reprisals against Lebanon. An intensive bombing campaign, also targeting Beirut, has so far killed more than a thousand people, including at least 200 children, and displaced a million (out of a population of six million). Observers were surprised by Hizbullah’s actions, as it was thought to have been severely weakened by its defeat in autumn 2024. However, they led to the total breakdown of the ceasefire agreed that November – already violated by Tel Aviv on an almost daily basis with bombing, targeted strikes and deliberate destruction of farmland in southern Lebanon.

A month after fighting resumed, Israel’s strategy is becoming clearer. The first step is to create a buffer zone between (…)

Full article: 421 words.