Hezbollah Hurt and Humiliated

As we continue to pray for peace, the situation on the northern border of Israel and southern Lebanon took a dramatic turn for the worse on Tuesday afternoon. At least nine people were killed and as many as three thousand injured when pagers used by members of Hezbollah exploded in locations across Lebanon and Syria.

This unprecedented surge of explosions caused confusion and chaos in Lebanon, with hospitals overwhelmed in the region where tensions have become extremely high for fear of all-out war.

Those tensions have risen in recent days due to Hezbollah increasing attacks on inhabited civilian communities in northern Israel. The Alma Research and Education Centre reports that Hezbollah has launched more than 30 attacks against populated areas since the beginning of September – a significant increase compared to August.

And Israel`s internal intelligence service thwarted a Hezbollah plot to kill a senior Israeli, who was previously an official in the Defence Forces, using an anti-personnel mine that would have been detonated remotely.

The Shin Bet says the plot was in the final stages of implementation and similar to another plot uncovered in September 2023.

In this interview with LiveNOW from Fox, University Professor Alon Burstein says that Hezbollah’s willingness to attempt that assassination indicates that they are ready to engage in a full-scale conflict with Israel.

On Wednesday morning, reports from Axios and Al-Monitor indicate that the pager attack against Hezbollah was carried out early due to concerns the plan may have been discovered and thwarted.

It is thought Israel intended to use these pagers at the beginning of a full-scale war with Hezbollah but decided to detonate them when at least two Hezbollah members suspected there was something wrong with them. One American official described it as “a use it or lose it moment.”

Wednesday morning has also seen Israel’s air force and artillery strike numerous Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including the areas of Majdal Selm, Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun El Ras, and Chihine.

We wait to see whether this leads to full-scale war, and continue to pray for genuine, lasting peace.