Why have Hezbollah attacks on Israel escalated?

As the Israeli occupation army strives to tackle the challenges posed by the return of Hamas fighters reappearing in the northern Gaza Strip, after having announced the clearance of these areas, attacks by Hezbollah forces on the northern front have escalated, drawing attention to the developments in the military arsenal and strategy of the party in confronting Israel.

This was highlighted in a report published by the American Associated Press on Friday, May 17, 2024, under the title: “Hezbollah Uses New Weapons and Tactics Against Israel as the War in Gaza Continues.”

Last Wednesday evening, Hezbollah targeted an Israeli military base west of the city of Tiberias in northern occupied Palestinian territories with a drone that managed to reach its target and explode inside.

The Israeli army admitted yesterday morning that one Hezbollah drone had hit the military site, which houses the “Tal al-Massa” aerial balloon belonging to the Air Force, according to the Israeli newspaper “Maariv.”

This attack is the first of its kind and the deepest inside the occupied territories since the clashes between the two sides began on October 8.

Although Hezbollah has regularly launched rockets across the border with Israel over the past seven months, the recent attack was reported by the Associated Press to be the first successful aerial missile strike launched within Israeli airspace.

The use of more advanced weapons by Hezbollah, including drones capable of launching missiles, explosive drones, and guided missiles, has raised concerns within the Israeli army.

Israeli army spokesperson Colonel Nadav Shushani stated, “Hezbollah has escalated the situation in the north… Their attacks have become more and more frequent.”

Intense Attacks Since the Israeli Incursion into Rafah

The American agency’s report also stated that Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on Israel in recent weeks, especially since the Israeli incursion into the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Additionally, it introduced new and more advanced weapons.

The report quoted Lebanese political analyst Faisal Abdul Sattar, who closely monitors Hezbollah, as saying, “This is a way to send messages on the ground to the Israeli enemy that this is part of what we have, and if necessary, we can strike more.”

A Lebanese official familiar with Hezbollah’s operations stated that Hezbollah has escalated its actions in the past two weeks in response to the Israeli incursion into Rafah, according to the Associated Press.

Axis of Resistance

While gunfire exchange across the border has been ongoing since early October, the “complex attacks” launched by Hezbollah started a few days after the unprecedented Iranian attack with drones and missiles on Israel in mid-April.

Analyst Abdul Sattar stated that the recent escalation by Hezbollah is likely to have several objectives, including raising the demands of the group in any future border agreement negotiations, as well as exerting more military pressure on the Israeli army amid preparations for the Rafah battle.

Israeli Defense Minister Ya’akov Galant stated in a speech last week, “We will achieve our goals, strike Hamas, destroy Hezbollah, and achieve security.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated in a speech delivered last Monday that there would be no end to the fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border until the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip end.

Nasrallah said, “The main goal of the Lebanese front is to contribute to pressuring the enemy to end the war on Gaza.”

This comes as Western efforts are intensifying, urging American and French officials to try to reach an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah and end the fighting that has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

One day after Nasrallah’s speech, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly visited Beirut and told the private Lebanese TV station Al Jadeed that she is pushing for a ceasefire.

She said, “We need people living in southern Lebanon to be able to return to their homes. We need to ensure that Israelis living in the northern part of Israel can also return to their homes.”

This comes at a time when residents of northern Israeli regions are suffering from missile strikes.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed that many settlers have decided to sell their homes in settlements in northern Israel and not return to them for fear of a repeat of a scenario similar to the events of October 7.

The newspaper pointed out that the incursion of Palestinian factions into settlements in the Gaza Strip buffer zone has evoked difficult feelings among settlers in northern occupied Palestine, adjacent to the borders with Lebanon, where some believe that the next operation may be directed against them and that the incursion of Lebanese settlements by the Lebanese party is only a matter of time.