WhatsappThe now widely publicized article in the Wall Street Journal detailing how Joe Biden had asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to refrain from a preventative strike on Hezbollah on October 11th, while the IAF jets were already airborne, has sent shockwaves throughout Israel.
Within days of the October 7th pogrom, Hezbollah’s Radwan unit had moved up to the border with Israel. Hezbollah’s precision guided missiles (PMGs) were being prepared to launch and Israel knew that it could ill afford to take a chance that Hezbollah would carry out a similar but far more extensive operation than Hamas had.
With the planes in the air, Biden talked Bibi out of direct military action. According to some sources, only Ben Gvir and Gallant voted to launch a preemptive attack on Hezbollah. The immediate threat melted away, with the Radwan force still on the border, but the PMGs had been moved, not to be located since.
With the world focusing on Gaza, the Northern border is simmering, ready to burst forth at any moment. However, Israel is attempting to only contain it for now. Inside sources admit that the goal of pushing Hezbollah back above the Litani river will be costly leaving countless IDF dead along the way due to the loss of a surprise air strike. Some policy experts believe that the Litani is not enough and a full assault on Hezbollah with the goal of taking the land up to the Damascus – Beirut highway should be the goal, resulting in even more IDF deaths.
The fact is, without a preemptive strike, the IDF is not in a dominant position to push the Radwan force back from the border and the IDF heads knows it Unfortunately, for the residents of the North this may mean an indefinite period of time away from their homes - the ones that still exist. Ever since the MOU that was signed between Israel and the USA during the Trump administration, Israel has become completely dependent on American resupply. In the next phase of the war, which is the Northern front, the US can pull the plug any time it wants.
Yet, Netanyahu may have no choice but to move forward and take Hezbollah out once and for all - after all, most of Israel is demanding that its enemies are wiped out once and for all.
