TEHRAN- Israel has intensified war rhetoric against Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement following a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights at the weekend.

The rocket hit a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams on Saturday. Twelve children were killed and 20 others were wounded in the attack. 

Israel has accused Hezbollah of firing the rocket. But the resistance movement has dismissed the claim as baseless, saying it was not responsible. 

Majdal Shams is located about 12 kilometers south of Lebanon and next to the Syrian border. 

Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The international community considers the area an occupied territory. 

Israel has offered the residents of Majdal Shams Israeli citizenship, but the majority have refused it. 

They have maintained their ties with Syria and its people.  The residents of the town have also accused Israel of politicizing Saturday’s rocket attack. 

Hence, why should Hezbollah strike a town whose residents have stood up to Israeli occupation?

It seems that Israel has painted a false-flag scenario to advance its war agenda. 

Meanwhile, mourners in Majdal Shams lashed out at Israeli ministers who attended the funeral of a dozen children who were killed in the rocket attack.

Israel has offered the residents of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights Israeli citizenship, but the majority have refused it. Footage aired by Israeli media showed mourners protesting the presence of Israeli ministers, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

"Get out of here, you criminal. We don't want you in the Golan," one protester shouted at Smotrich, according to Middle East Monitor. 

Environment Protection Minister Idit Silman, Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Energy Minister Eli Cohen faced similar protests.

Nonetheless, the attack in Majdal Shams has raised fears of a broader regional war between Israel and the Lebanese resistance movement. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far.” Israel’s security cabinet has also authorized him and war minister Yoav Gallant to decide how and when to respond.

Hezbollah has said it does not want to go to direct war with Israel. It, however, has warned the regime against the consequences of its military adventurism. 

Earlier this month, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the movement would strike Israeli towns that have not yet been subjected to its rocket and drone attacks if the regime continues to target civilians in Lebanon. 

Nasrallah also warned Israel in his mid-July speech, “If your tanks enter Lebanon and its southern regions, you won’t have to worry about a shortage of tanks—there will be no tanks left. Our front in Lebanon will remain active as long as the aggression against Gaza, its people, and their resistance continues in all its forms.”

The two sides have been exchanging fire since Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Hezbollah says it won’t stop the strikes unless the regime ends its war of genocide in Gaza which has so far killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.  

Israel has failed to defeat Hamas more than nine months after waging war on Gaza. Since Hezbollah has far superior firepower than Hamas, Israel will have to brace for widespread repercussions of a potential full-blown conflict with the Lebanese resistance movement. 

Israel’s demise 

A retired Israeli general has told the Maariv newspaper that war with Hezbollah will lead to Israel’s destruction.  

Major General Itzhak Brik said those who seek revenge after the attack on the occupied Golan Heights may drag Israel further into the war with Hezbollah, with rockets targeting residences, power plants, gas platforms, army bases and factories, according to Al Jazeera. 

He added, “As a result, Israel will suffer very heavy losses and the country will be destroyed. We need an immediate end to the war in Gaza, which in no way leads to the end of Hamas.”
 

Hezbollah can make Israel “uninhabitable” 

In June, an Israeli official also raised the alarm about the consequences of an all-out war with Hezbollah, warning that the resistance movement can make Israel “uninhabitable in 72 hours”.

“We are not in a good situation, and we are not prepared for a real war. We are living in a fantasy,” Shaul Goldstein, the head of the company responsible for planning Israel’s electrical systems, was cited as saying by Israeli media. 

Goldstein added, “We cannot promise electricity if there is a war in the north. After 72 hours without electricity, it will be impossible to live here. We are not prepared for a real war.”

Painful truth

Israel declared war on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. In both conflicts, the Israeli army was met with strong resistance from Hezbollah and had to retreat. 

In mid-August 2021, an Israeli inquiry acknowledged the regime’s failure to achieve its goal in the 2006 war, describing the conflict as “unsuccessful” and a “missed opportunity”.

“Israel initiated a long war, which ended without its clear military victory,” the inquiry said. 

Hezbollah military power

The number of Hezbollah’s missiles in 2006 was about 14,000. But now the resistance movement has up to 150,000 missiles and rockets of various types and ranges.

The Hezbollah leader said in June that the number of Hezbollah operatives who are ready to join the war has exceeded 100,000.

Israel was unable to prolong the 2006 war for more than 34 days. With regard to Hezbollah’s current military capabilities, Israel will suffer further humiliation if its threats of military action lead to a wider conflict.