Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire live updates: ‘It’s all over’: Lebanese civilians return to destroyed homes

Israel’s different approaches to Hamas and HezbollahReleased at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time

13:30 GMT

Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic correspondent in Beirut

There are marked differences in Israel’s approach to its two main regional enemies: Hamas in Gaza on the contrary Hezbollah in Lebanon.

While Gaza is currently part of an Israeli-occupied entity, Lebanon is a sovereign state.

Despite its massive military capabilities and superiority in the air, Israel is struggling with its ground operation in Lebanon. After almost two months, it has neither succeeded in taking control of the towns in the south nor has it succeeded in neutralizing Hezbollah’s rocket launch capabilities to the north and beyond.

Hezbollah also managed to expand its attacks to Israel, disrupting life in major cities there and causing casualties.

This comes as the Israeli army suffers an increasing number of casualties in Southern Lebanon.

image source, Reuters

Israel has also failed to create the necessary conditions for the return of its displaced residents to the north. This could have played an important role in persuading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Add to this the exhaustion of the Israeli army and the political and economic effects of having to draw more and more reservists into conflict.

Author of the book Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East, Dr. Leila Nicolas also says that “the Israelis did not have a clear plan for the next day in Gaza.”

He adds that this is something that can be postponed until after Donald Trump becomes US president in January.

In contrast, a clear agreement framework already exists in Lebanon, and this is the basis on which ceasefire terms are negotiated. It is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 In 2006, the war between Israel and Hezbollah ended.

“It is also clear that Iran, Hezbollah’s financial backer, does not want to be dragged into a long war of attrition that will further exhaust Hezbollah,” Nicolas adds.