Israel and Hezbollah teeter toward war

Israeli firefighter puts out blaze started by Hezbollah rockets — "The fires have put this grinding forgotten conflict squarely on the front pages"

(Image credit: Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

"Israel and Hezbollah are moving closer to a full-scale war after months of escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group," The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday, even as the Biden administration is lobbying Arab countries to pressure Hamas to agree to an Israeli cease-fire deal in Gaza. Hezbollah rocket attacks on Sunday sparked wildfires in northern Israel.

Who said what

"They are burning here, we need to burn all of Hezbollah's strongholds and destroy them. War!" said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of two far-right Cabinet ministers who vowed to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if he agreed to the peace deal with Hamas. Many of the 60,000 Israelis forced to evacuate after Hezbollah began firing rockets "see a cease-fire in Gaza as the key to calming the situation in the north" so they can return home, the BBC said.

What next?

Israel's government "has been keen to contain this conflict on its northern border, aware that Hezbollah is a better-trained and better-equipped enemy than Hamas," the BBC said. "But the fires have put this grinding forgotten conflict squarely on the front pages," pressuring Netanyahu to act.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.