Ultimately, in every strategic discussion about the northern front, we must keep our eyes firmly fixed on one goal: the security of northern Israel’s residents. To secure that goal over the long term, Israeli policy must rest on two clear foundational principles:
1. Setting firm red lines against Hezbollah’s rearmament, and
2. Breaking away decisively from the logic of proportional responses.
The first principle concerns Hezbollah’s military rebuilding, which is already underway. At present, the IDF does not have complete freedom of action to halt this process deep inside Lebanon. In recent weeks, IDF strikes have focused on southern Lebanon, within the security zone and its immediate surroundings, and appear largely aimed at eliminating immediate threats to IDF forces.
Yet while we concentrate on removing specific threats to troops on the ground, Hezbollah is rebuilding the strategic threat to northern Israel’s communities. It is doing so through continued smuggling and the development of local production and assembly capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, rockets, and anti-tank missiles. Syrian authorities intercept only a small fraction of these smuggled shipments.
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