RSS
Israel Is Burning: The War in the North Could Make Gaza Look Small in Comparison
Flames seen at the side of a road, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, close to the Israel border with Lebanon, in northern Israel, June 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
Large swaths of northern Israel, already rendered uninhabitable by months of Hamas rocket fire, are now ablaze. Nearly 100,000 Israelis who were forced from their homes in October have been living as “displaced persons” for almost eight months. Hezbollah has also succeeded in carrying out a number of ground incursions into Israeli territory in “October 7 style,” though fortunately all civilian communities have been evacuated.
After three quarters of a year, the Israeli people are asking: when will we go back home to the north?
This week may finally provide our answer: amidst rumors of a June IDF ground operation into Lebanon, Israel has just called up 350,000 reservists: nearly the entire reserve corps. Yet this war will be unlike anything we’re used to.
In October, Hamas had an estimated arsenal of 30,000 rockets. Hezbollah, by contrast, is estimated to have nearly a quarter million, and can fire more rockets in a single day than Hamas can in an entire month — enough to overwhelm the Iron Dome missile defense shield.
Moreover, an estimated 10% of Hezbollah’s arsenal consists of guided, precision high yield missiles, smart-bombs, and drones. Combined with the ability to overwhelm Iron Dome, these precision weapons have a terrifying capacity to destroy specific targets.
(Source: Alma Research and Education Center)
So what will Hezbollah strike, given the opportunity and capacity? Israelis have some thoughts on this: for months Israelis have been quietly stockpiling food, bottled water, AM/FM radios, flashlights, and extra batteries. This is because Israelis believe that Hezbollah will attempt to destroy electric plants, water systems, the roads that transport food, as well as communications and Internet connections (making old style radios potentially the only way to access information). Israelis are accustomed to hearing a siren and going to the bomb shelter for 10 minutes, However, in a war with Hezbollah, Israelis could be stuck in shelters for hours or even days at a time.
But there is at least some encouraging news: Israel has been preparing for this scenario for the past eight months. There are clues to indicate that Israel may have been quietly building back-up systems and other protections for much of the civilian infrastructure, but it is nonetheless a far more dangerous scenario than a face-off against Hamas.
Israel faces another dilemma in this upcoming Lebanon war: Lebanese casualties.
Israel’s operation in Gaza has produced the lowest civilian to combatant casualty ratio in human history, nine times lower than the UN published global average, and far lower than numbers achieved by the United States and coalition allies in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Part of the reason Israel was able to act with such incredible restraint is the Iron Dome: if an active Hamas rocket launcher is surrounded by civilians, Israel can afford to issue warnings and wait before destroying it, knowing that Israeli civilians will have a measure of protection in the meantime.
Not so in Lebanon: with the Iron Dome potentially overwhelmed and with Hezbollah’s high yield precision munitions pointed at Israeli civilian targets, the IDF will have no choice but to destroy the active rocket launchers quickly. If such rocket launchers are located in densely populated areas, such as downtown Beirut, that could mean very high levels of civilian casualties.
Self-defense under these circumstances is absolutely permitted by international law, morality, and basic common sense, whereas Hezbollah’s practice of hiding weaponry in civilian areas is not.
Lebanese casualties would be tragic and worthy of empathy, yet even so, the blame should fall squarely on Hezbollah (and not Israel) for turning an entire nation into one massive human shield. Even Israel’s historical restraint in Gaza has not been adequate to stem the tide of accusations of genocide, war crimes, and international legal actions. With Lebanese casualty counts potentially tens to hundreds of times greater, one can only imagine the international storm that will ensue. And that’s not even counting the dangers that await the Israeli homeland.
A war in the north could have unprecedented consequences for the Jewish State.
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
The post Israel Is Burning: The War in the North Could Make Gaza Look Small in Comparison first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”
Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.
But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.
Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”
Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.
Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.
A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.
Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.
RSS
UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action
Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.
Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.
Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”
Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.
RSS
Macron’s Meeting with American Jewry ‘Won’t Happen’ Amid Palestinian Recognition Drive, Surge in Antisemitism
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Paris, France, June 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
i24 News – French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to set up a meeting with American Jewish leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
i24NEWS has learned that the meeting won’t happen, firstly because Macron was only available for the meeting ahead of the UN General Assembly during Rosh Hashanah, and yet, a person invited to meet with Macron and who has knowledge of the discussions told i24NEWS the sit-down simply wasn’t going to happen, anyway.
“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the person said, adding that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely received invitations, among other entities.
“The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out,” the person said.
Asked by i24NEWS whether Macron’s push for greater Palestinian state recognition or his lack of action in tackling antisemitism at home led to the stance of organized American Jewry, the person said it’s more of “the climate” which allows one to say ‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content.”
The person said they are sure, if a meeting would have happened, that everybody in the room would have taken a hard line with Macron, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism” and France’s announcement this summer that it will recognize a Palestinian state later this month, and is leading an effort to get more countries to do the same.
But, the person told i24NEWS they are convinced that, in the end, while no final decision actually had to be taken, there was enough pressure that a consensus would have been reached to decline the meeting.
Of the timing of Rosh Hashanah allowing for leadership to not be forced to officially say no to Macron, the person said “G-d saves us every time.”
Another source familiar with the matter noted that it cannot be ruled out that Macron may eventually succeed in arranging a meeting with certain representatives, as the organizations are not a single unified body. However, he is unlikely to be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of groups representing American Jewry.
i24NEWS has also learned that French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of visiting Israel ahead of the convention, but was advised by the Prime Minister’s Office that the timing was inappropriate. The message came as Macron continues to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move Israel strongly opposes. Sources further told i24NEWS that Israel is weighing additional retaliatory measures against Macron, including the potential closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem, which primarily serves Palestinians in the West Bank.