Finally on the offensive, IDF’s 91st Division slices through Hezbollah’s front lines

Little more than a year ago, Israel faced a dilemma on its northern border, beyond the hovering threat that had occupied its defense leaders for the previous two decades. The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah had erected two tents inside of Israeli territory, which Israel was determined to see removed.

But it was equally determined to avoid a war with Hezbollah, which — Israel assumed — would rain thousands of rockets down on the country every day. Israel was as deterred as it hoped the powerful Iran-backed army was.

The tents remained for months, as Israel rather flaccidly sent a message to Hezbollah through UN peacekeepers asking them to remove the structures. Some officials in Israel pushed for the use of force, but in the end, diplomatic moves combined with vague verbal threats seemed to finally convince Hezbollah to pull back.

Now, after Hamas’s October 7 attacks — and a year of rocket and anti-tank missile fire from Hezbollah, Israel’s mood has changed dramatically, as has the balance of power. Ten days into the IDF ground operation in Lebanon, it’s hard to fathom that Israel recently treated Hezbollah as an adversary that it needs to tiptoe around.

On Thursday, the IDF for the first time brought Israeli journalists into a village in southern Lebanon, a clear indication that it feels it has asserted operational control over the area. READ MORE