Israel proclaims 'new era' in conflict amid risks of wider war

Analysts see attacks on Hezbollah devices as the start of a novel Israeli strategy

- Jonathan Eyal

LONDON Israel claims that a "new era" in its war against Hezbollah has now begun, days after shock attacks targeting the pagers and other communications devices of the Lebanon-based militant organisation.

"We are at the beginning of a new era in this war, and we need to adapt ourselves," Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told military personnel during a tour of an Israeli Air Force base.

Mr Gallant did not elaborate on what he meant by a "new era". But his statement can be seen as an indirect admission that Israel was behind the exploding pagers and walkie-talkie devices, which killed dozens of people and wounded thousands in Lebanon.

The current assumption among military analysts is that these spectacular attacks on Hezbollah's communications equipment are just the start of a novel Israeli strategy, one which seeks to ratchet up the military pressure on Hezbollah and Iran, even if this risks a much wider Middle East war.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's chief, warned on Sept 19 that Israel's actions amounted to "a declaration of war".

Hezbollah has a far bigger arsenal of missiles and various projectiles aimed at Israel and is much more sophisticated in using them.

And while Hamas is confined to a small strip of land in Gaza, Hezbollah benefits from a much bigger base in Lebanon, where its battle-hardened troops dwarf in number and capabilities those of the Lebanese national army.

Furthermore, as the Middle East's most significant Shi'ite Muslim militia, Hezbollah also has the direct support and funding of Iran.

For these reasons, it is by now well-known that when the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 after the Hamas incursion into Israel, the Israeli government actually weighed the possibility of hitting Hezbollah first before turning to Hamas in Gaza.