Israeli soldiers killed and wounded along side Spanish peace-keeper
Two Israeli soldiers were killed, and several were wounded in a Hezbollah missile-attack on Thursday, Jan. 28. The strike hit an Israeli military-vehicle near the Lebanese and Syrian border, in an area known as the Golan Heights. A Spanish soldier serving on a UN peacekeeping mission was also reportedly killed by Israeli counter-fire.
Hezbollah released a statement after the attack, claiming responsibility.
“11.25 a.m. this morning, al-Quneitra Martyr’s group targeted an Israeli convoy with specialized heavy duty rockets in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms area. The convoy included Israeli artillery, an officer and several soldiers, many of whom were injured,” the statement read.
The attacks came in retaliation after an Israeli drone-strike that killed an Iranian general and several other senior Hezbollah personnel on Jan. 18.
“It’s a very delicate game, because both sides want to respond hard enough that they’re not perceived as weak, but not too hard to start a war,” said Benedetta Berti of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, in an article published by The New York Times. “It’s a very, very thin line. There’s plenty of room for miscalculations. If this is where it ends, we’re moving on to the next chapter, with the awareness that every single time this starts again, we get closer to a proper war.”
Hezbollah – the Lebanese Shia Movement funded by Iran – quickly became one of the world’s most powerful non-state military organizations several years ago, and is currently one of the organizations that compose the coalition force in Syria fighting ISIS. Avoiding war is the best option for them at the moment in order to avoid fighting on two fronts.
In response to the retaliation attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the governments of Israel and Syria shared responsibility for the aggression coming from their region. Netanyahu also promised “those who are behind the attack today, will pay full price.”
“For a while, Iran has been trying, through the Hezbollah, to form an additional terror front against us from the Golan Heights,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We are acting with resolve and responsibility against this effort.”
The attacks come at a precarious time for Israel, seven weeks before an election and during American-led negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program. Israeli military officials are reportedly preparing for the long awaited, inevitable next round with Hezbollah.
Israel and Hezbollah last officially fought in a 34-day war in 2006, where an Israeli ground-invasion failed to deter and disband the Lebanese militia. Analysts on both sides agree that neither force wishes to start a bull-blown war, but the clashes in the past few weeks reveal how quickly tensions can escalate.