The day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist assault killed 1,200 and dragged more than 240 kidnapped Israelis and others to Gaza, Hezbollah opened a second front along Israel’s northern border with missile fire from Lebanon. More than 60,000 Israelis were evacuated from 43 communities. Seven months later, those evacuees have been told they won’t be home before summer as a war of attrition continues with increasing intensity and more sophisticated weaponry. CIE’s 29th weekly webinar May 8 looks at the existential threat to Israelis in the north, Iran and the seven fronts where Israel is facing threats, Hezbollah’s reasons to fight for seven months without escalating to a full-scale war, whether escalation is likely and in Israel’s best interests, and what Israel faces in Lebanon. Our panelists are Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center; Lt. Col. (ret.) Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies; and Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, a special Middle East analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Moderating the discussion is Dr. Ken Stein, the president of the Center for Israel Education and an Emory University emeritus professor of Middle East history, political science and Israel studies.
Links to Enhance Understanding
CIE
- https://israeled.org/israel-hamas-war/israel-hamas-war-webinars/
- https://israeled.org/second-lebanon-war-begins/
- https://israeled.org/southern-lebanon-the-land-of-three-armies/
- https://israeled.org/iraqs-nuclear-reactor-destroyed/
INSS
JCPA
- https://jcpa.org/hizbullah-claims-seven-villages-in-northern-galilee-are-part-of-lebanon/
- https://jcpa.org/hizbullah-replaced-the-lebanese-resistance-slogan-with-the-islamic-resistance/
- https://jcpa.org/salam-ya-mahdi-how-irans-indoctrination-policy-mobilizes-shiite-audiences-to-support-the-islamic-republic/
Alma
- https://israel-alma.org/2024/04/15/islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-navy-irgcn/
- https://israel-alma.org/2024/03/11/special-report-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps/
- https://israel-alma.org/2024/04/07/six-months-into-the-war-in-the-northern-arena-a-summary-of-key-insights-and-trends/
- https://israel-alma.org/2024/05/05/weekend-update-may-03-05-2024-200-pm-northern-arena/
- https://israel-alma.org/2024/05/06/the-northern-arena-and-the-shiite-axis-bi-weekly-review-of-key-events-and-data-april-21-may-5/
Others
- eJP: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/kiryat-shmona-mayor-avichai-stern-discusses-the-evacuated-citys-unbearable-present-uncertain-future/
- Articulo 14 (Spanish): https://www.articulo14.es/internacional/noche-larga-sarit-zehavi-respuesta-irani-supone-cambio-reglas-juego-20240415.html#
- Relevant U.N. resolutions: http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/1701 and http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/1559