Why an Israel-Hezbollah war would be far more dangerous today than the last time around
CNN
Fears are growing that tension between Israel and Lebanon could lead to a regional war involving Iran in the Middle East.
“We can plunge Lebanon completely into the dark and take apart Hezbollah’s power in days,” former Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz declared Tuesday at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. It was just the latest threat from a prominent Israeli public figure against Lebanon and Hezbollah as tensions flare. It won’t be difficult for Israel to plunge Lebanon into darkness. The country’s power grid, already crippled by decades of mismanagement and the country’s economic collapse, barely functions as it is. A few well-aimed airstrikes will easily finish it off. Taking apart Hezbollah’s military power in days, however, is a far taller task. Since its inconclusive 2006 war with the Lebanese militant group, Israel has been planning for a re-match. Hezbollah too has long been preparing for war.
An Israeli airstrike on a multi-story building in northern Gaza killed at least 27 people, relief officials said, as the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the area – where it is mounting a major offensive.
If his first term in the White House is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump is likely to keep the Middle East high on his agenda.
Rights groups say journalist Reza Valizadeh has been detained, amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
A female student stripped to her underwear outside her university in Iran in what some student and rights groups say was a protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
Israel is at a “high level of readiness” for a response from Iran, an Israeli military source told CNN, as US officials visited the Middle East for a renewed push to resolve the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Follow live updates.