Tom Rogan
The Israeli military has launched a series of massive air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s underground command headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. The strikes on Friday were reportedly launched after Israel gathered intelligence that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was present at the headquarters.
Hezbollah’s command center was built under residential apartment blocks, so civilian casualties are likely to be high. Yet while European nations and others will protest this strike, Israel knows that key regional partners, such as Saudi Arabia and the Sunni monarchies, will quietly be applauding what it has done. Those governments are concerned by the civilian casualties incurred by Israeli actions against Hamas in Gaza, but they share Israel’s hatred of Hezbollah.
Still, Iran is likely to launch a significant retaliatory attack on Israel if Nasrallah has been killed. If Nasrallah has not been killed, then Hezbollah is highly likely to attempt to launch major missile and drone attacks deep into Israel. This will likely precipitate an Israeli ground offensive into southern Lebanon.
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