Tensions mount after Hezbollah strike injures 18 Israelis
Tensions are mounting along the Israel-Lebanon border after a Hezbollah strike on April 17 resulted in the injury of 18 Israelis.
An IDF outpost in the Arab village of al-Aramshe, northern Israel, was targeted by a Hezbollah-operated drone, prompting Israeli forces to bombard towns and villages in southern Lebanon, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat and agencies on April 18.
Israeli paramedics reported that the 18 wounded, including military personnel, were transported to the northern Nahariya hospital. They confirmed four of the injured are in serious condition.
The Iranian-backed group announced that their drone attack was a retaliation to Israel’s recent killings of its leaders.
However, Israel’s recent attacks against Iran on April 19 have just forced the conflict into an unknown direction.
Iran’s unprecedented mass missile and drone strike against Israeli targets caused the world to wait with bated breath of a regional war dragging international actors into the mix.
Biden put his foot down against the prospect of an Israeli response to Iran, warning that the US would not assist.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron similarly warned against stoking further violence urging Israel “to be smart”.
It remains to be seen how Israel’s dreaded response will impact the tit-for-tat fighting that Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in since October 8.
Although Israel sees Iran as the head of the snake, over its funding of proxy groups such as Hezbollah, it is likely Israel will see its attack against Iran as separate from its strategy against the border war.
And this past week’s escalation in violence has done nothing to dispel fears of wider war.
Hezbollah field commander Ismail Baz was recently killed in an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanese town, Ain Abel. The Israeli military said Baz was involved in planning rocket attacks against Israel.
Additional Israeli strikes killed two more of the group’s members.
READ: Israel’s latest strikes in Lebanon kill Hezbollah commander
While Hezbollah has suffered higher casualties than the IDF, an increased amount of Israeli soldiers have also been injured.
The April 17 attack comes two days following an explosion along the border that injured four Israeli soldiers, with one reported as severely injured.
Asharq Al-Awsat / Agencies
