(Times of Israel) David Horovitz - Israel's political and military leadership has now recognized that every front is potentially unstable. Israel has not rushed to embrace Syria's new jihadist leadership and has been proactive in minimizing the military consequences should the rebels' ostensible congeniality prove superficial. Hence the ongoing airstrikes on weapons stores and infrastructure, and the IDF's seizure of the border buffer zone. Hizbullah is down but not out. The assessment is that Hizbullah will work assiduously to rebuild its capabilities and revive efforts to attack - including to infiltrate across the border. With millions of Israelis now forced to dash for bomb shelters several nights a week due to the threat of Houthi rockets from Yemen, more potent Israeli strikes are in the offing. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, there has been a decline in terrorist attacks. Regarding Iran, the Israeli assessment is that the ayatollahs are likely to try to attain nuclear weapons. Israel appears to believe it knows what Iran is doing when it comes to weaponization. Concern about IDF operations triggering Hamas to murder hostages radically constrains the IDF's ability to attempt hostage rescues, and its ability to battle Hamas in Gaza areas where it knows hostages may be held. The sooner that all or even almost all of the living hostages are released, the greater the IDF's capacity to step up operations against Hamas in southern Gaza. Unfortunately, this is an equation that Hamas understands all too well.
2024-12-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive