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Source: https://www.jns.org/a-necessary-though-imperfect-deal-caps-netanyahus-finest-hour/
The Ceasefire Deal with Hizbullah Marks a Defeat for Iran
(JNS) Jonathan S. Tobin - Israel has achieved some real gains in the ceasefire deal with Hizbullah. Israel has finally forced Hizbullah and Iran to retreat from their determination to keep firing as long as Hamas is fighting in Gaza. This isolation of Hamas is a victory for the Jewish state. So, too, is the fact that the last two months of Israeli attacks on Hizbullah have significantly degraded their capacity to inflict harm on the region. That's a defeat for Iran, which had hoped that the seven-front war on Israel it had incited could go on indefinitely. Instead, they are the ones who have been diminished by military setbacks and vast losses inflicted on a group whose main purpose is to serve as a deterrent to attacks on Iran. At the same time, Hizbullah has never kept its word about anything, let alone agreements to stop attacking Israel or to withdraw from the southern part of Lebanon over which it has largely ruled for a generation. Israel cannot rely on the U.S. or France to take action to guarantee that Hizbullah will not simply move its terrorist forces and missiles back to Israel's border as soon as the IDF withdraws. Only Israeli action can defend the security of the Jewish state. While Hizbullah and Iran will over time reorganize, rearm and recoup their losses, the fact that Hizbullah was forced by its losses to accept a ceasefire without it being tied to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is an enormous setback for Iran's multifront war strategy. The ceasefire in the north will also enable the IDF to concentrate on mopping up Hamas guerrillas in Gaza. With Hizbullah weakened and Hamas on the run, as well as with much of its own air defenses being taken out by Israeli military action, Tehran is far weaker than it was on Oct. 6, 2023.