Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz continue to threaten further escalation of attacks on southern Lebanon, even as they’ve already substantially increased the number of strikes they carry out in violation of the ceasefire there.
An Israeli missile strike targeted a car in the town of Kfar Roumanne, Nabitieh District, killing four people and wounding three others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Their identities remain uncertain.
Uncertain, that is, except for in the IDF narrative, as they issued a statement claiming that all four of the slain were members of Hezbollah’s “elite” Radwan Force. They offered no evidence this was the case, and indeed, they generally don’t.
Vehicle destroyed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon | Image from X
This has become a recurring story with the IDF, claiming top Hezbollah figures whenever they comment on the killings in their strikes, but almost never offering a shred of evidence that is the case. The Israeli media, in general, treats these claims as true, despite UN investigations showing a large number of the people killed by Israel during the ceasefire were confirmed civilians.
The claims are generally that the top Hezbollah figures are restoring Hezbollah capabilities in southern Lebanon, though again the evidence is non-existent, and Hezbollah has not fired a single missile at Israel since the ceasefire went into effect almost a year ago, despite thousands of Israeli violations and several hundred killings.
The allegation of Hezbollah activity are not just done as cover for all the people they’re killing, but are also the main narrative for why Israel is threatening to escalate the conflict even further. Katz, in particular, claims escalation is necessary because of the threat posed by Hezbollah, which he says requires “maximum enforcement,” which is to say, even more killing.
Israeli officials are treating another war with Lebanon as a foregone conclusion, though since they’re attacking Lebanon on a daily basis anyhow, we may only know when Israel decides to not maintain the pretext of a ceasefire when they formally announce it, because all indications are that the 2024 Israeli war on Lebanon never really ended.
