The Hizbollah militant group in Lebanon has announced its entry into a “new and escalating phase” of its conflict with Israel on the northern border, following Israel’s announcement of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza to the south. In a statement, Hizbollah highlighted its military accomplishments against the Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon and indicated a shift towards an intensified confrontation with Israel that would unfold in the coming days.
The conflict intensified after Hizbollah began launching rockets at Israel from Lebanon, in solidarity with Gaza, following a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Over the past year, fighting had largely involved back-and-forth exchanges along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, resulting in significant displacement on both sides.
Recently, after mostly subduing resistance from Hamas in Gaza, Israel has intensified its operations against Hizbollah in Lebanon. Israeli forces reported Sinwar’s death after they identified him by chance on Wednesday in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.
Sinwar, recognized as the strategist behind last year’s October 7 attack where Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages, was a central figure in precipitating the most lethal war in Israeli-Palestinian conflict history. Hamas has not yet provided comments on Sinwar’s death.
Sinwar’s demise represents a significant moment in the ongoing conflict, striking a blow to the Palestinian militant group while serving as a symbolic achievement for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu referred to Sinwar’s killing as both a “victory of good over evil” and a potential end to Hamas’s control in Gaza, encouraging militants holding 101 remaining Israeli hostages to release them in exchange for their lives.
“This is an important moment in the war,” Netanyahu declared, asserting that they would continue efforts until all hostages are safely returned.
The international community, including Western leaders, perceives this development as a potential opening to advance stalled conflict resolution efforts that have claimed over 42,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s health authorities. U.S. President Joe Biden recognized Sinwar’s death as a positive development for Israel and an opportunity for a political settlement that ensures a “better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanded an end to Israel’s military actions in Lebanon.
Towards the end of last month, Israel boosted its campaign against Hizbollah, undertaking extensive airstrikes that devastated regions of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, leading to the deaths of several senior Hizbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel also launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon more than two weeks ago, where clashes with Hizbollah fighters persist along the border. Recently, Israel reported the deaths of five soldiers in a skirmish with Hizbollah in southern Lebanon, bringing the Israeli military toll to 16 since the ground invasion began, with additional IDF troops severely injured.
Although hundreds of Hizbollah fighters have been killed over the past year’s conflict, the group ceased issuing death notices in late September. Furthermore, Israel has yet to respond to an October 1 ballistic missile attack launched by Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hizbollah, while Israeli leaders have promised a “severe” response against Iran. Following Sinwar’s death, Iran’s UN mission declared that the “spirit of resistance will be strengthened.”
