Must Read: Israel’s Next War

“More than nine months into its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel now appears closer than ever to a second, even larger war with Hezbollah on its northern border,” writes Amos Harel, the defense analyst for Haaretz, in a new essay for Foreign Affairs. Over the past few weeks, attacks from both sides have intensified, with rockets striking deeper into Israel and Lebanon. The possibility of an all-out war has received relatively little attention amid a tumultuous period in U.S. politics—but such an escalation “would have consequences that dwarf the current Gaza conflict.”
Up until now, Harel writes, both sides have had reason to exercise restraint, even as both Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in low-level conflict. But there are some in Israel who favor “dealing with Hezbollah once and for all.” If Israel “succumbs to that temptation without a clearly defined endgame or strategy for limiting the war,” he warns, “the results could be devastating.”

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