Israel Threatens To Expand Conflict Into Lebanon

"Israel warns of war in Lebanon" reports Semafor. 

    Israel will attack more targets in Lebanon if the Lebanese government does not stop Hezbollah militants from launching rockets, an Israeli minister said on Wednesday. There have been constant exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah across the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

However, the article points out, "Hezbollah’s response to the war in Gaza has been one of 'relative restraint' so far, firing missiles at the Golan Heights in a show of 'solidarity' but seeking to avoid the larger conflict its supporters would have desired, an analyst wrote." Nevertheless:

    Benny Gantz, a war cabinet member and Israel’s former defense minister, told reporters that “the stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out,” and that Israeli forces were prepared to intervene in Lebanon to remove Hezbollah from the border. Gantz’s warning came after what was reportedly the single biggest day of Hezbollah rocket launches since Oct. 7.

    While most experts believe neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants an all-out conflict, daily strikes have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nine Israeli soldiers and ratcheted up tensions. U.S. officials fear that both sides’ attempts to take advantage of the other’s perceived reluctance to go to war could spark a wider conflict, the New York Times reported. “We are a mistake away from escalation,” an Israeli military official told the Wall Street Journal.