The Israeli military this week began a "limited" and "localized" deployment of ground troops in Lebanon as its conflict with militant group Hezbollah and now Iran continues to escalate. The last time Israel launched a ground offensive over the border of its northern neighbor was in a bloody and unsuccessful 33-day campaign in 2006, which the government admitted ended "without its clear military victory." 

What happened in the 2006 war? 
The last Israeli incursion into Lebanon was a "debacle," said Al Jazeera. Airstrikes decimated Lebanese infrastructure and civilian life, while Israeli ground troops were left "bogged down in fierce fighting." A total of 121 Israeli soldiers were killed and 20 tanks destroyed after Hezbollah fighters laid "carefully prepared ambushes." The 2006 war ended only when both sides adopted a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the full withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from southern Lebanon. 

What is Israel doing differently this time? 
The Israeli government has long considered Lebanon to be its "primary foe," said Foreign Policy, and in 2019 created "revised plans" for a "rapid destruction of the group's military capabilities in the event of a future conflict." The IDF has also seemingly changed its approach to ground incursion since 2006, with the current "nature and scale of troops and tanks" on the ground indicating it could be eyeing a "longer invasion" that avoids the bloody stalemate of 2006, said Al Jazeera. 

What about Hezbollah? 
Lebanon has remained a priority for the IDF and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency since the war ended in 2006. Hezbollah is better armed than ever and has been firing rockets into Israel since late 2023 in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. And while Israel has long planned how it would defeat the group on its home turf, Hezbollah has also not been idle since the last war. 

Hezbollah has spent the "last 18 years" preparing "tunnels and positions in solid rock," said Jeremy Bowen at the BBC, and now has a "formidable arsenal." Unlike Hamas, it is not isolated from supply lines, and while much of its communications have been hampered, the Lebanese group is "obdurate, well-armed and angry" and will find a way to fight back against Israeli forces.

Mexico has shattered its glass ceiling. Claudia Sheinbaum was inaugurated on Oct. 1 as the country's first woman president. She's expected to largely follow the mandates of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Both are members of the left-wing Morena political party, and López Obrador was considered one of the most progressive Mexican leaders in decades. But a major difference is that Mexico's new president will have a nearly unprecedented level of power at her disposal. Despite this, Sheinbaum may be facing an uphill battle.

Why will Sheinbaum be so powerful?
It's partly because she's taking over a "government utterly dominated by the ruling Morena party," said The Conversation. The relatively new party has "exploited pervasive public disillusionment with the more established parties." As a result, the party has solid majorities in both chambers of Mexico's Congress. Three-quarters of the country's 32 state governors are also Morena party members. 

This means Sheinbaum "begins her term in an extremely powerful position," said The Conversation. The Morena party is "now so dominant that Mexicans are likening the new government to the one-party system that ruled for most of the 20th century," said The Washington Post. 

Sheinbaum's power will also be boosted by López Obrador's "judicial overhaul that will over the next three years replace all of the country's judges with new jurists elected by popular vote," said Reuters. This could lead to a highly politicized judiciary that works in Sheinbaum's favor. Mexico will be "transformed, for all practical purposes, into a one-party autocracy," former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo said at The Economist.

Can Sheinbaum address Mexico's challenges? 
Sheinbaum campaigned on a continuation of López Obrador's progressivism. But she takes office at a time when the "nation faces pressing problems, including spiraling organized violence, a slowing economy, and tensions with the United States" because of the judicial overhaul, said Time. 

Despite her power, Sheinbaum will "take office with empty coffers" and growing uncertainty, activist Carlos Heredia said to The Wall Street Journal. Beyond this, one of her most pressing issues — securing the U.S.-Mexico border — could be "upended if Trump wins the election."

Mexicans remain split along ideological lines regarding their new president. Sheinbaum's election is "history in the making," and "we are counting on her to give us all her support," Sheinbaum supporter Graciela Hernández said to the Financial Times.