Official: Israeli strikes in Lebanon aim to change balance of power in region

Through its dramatically stepped-up aerial attacks in recent days, Israel is working “to change the balance of power in the north by destroying thousands of rockets, by destroying [Hezbollah’s] capabilities, and through other means,” an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The effort began with reports of “various explosions of beepers and other devices across Lebanon,” explains the official. Israel has not confirmed it was behind those attacks.

“It continued with the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil and the Radwan leadership. And it has continued over the past two days with the expansion of massive fire with the aim of hitting Hezbollah hard.”

There are two overarching goals, says the official. The first is “to strengthen deterrence against Hezbollah and to create a situation where Israel can return residents to their homes.”

The second is to deter “the entire Iranian axis,” says the official.

Israel will stop its operations if Hezbollah meets Israel’s demands, primarily that it pull back from Israel’s northern border, says the official. “They know our demands.”

If Hezbollah doesn’t stop, however, “the next stage will come,” warns the official, without laying out what that would entail.

It doesn’t have to be a ground invasion, says the official. “Either they’ll stop firing, or they won’t be able to anymore.”