Extracts: The scale of destruction from Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon was already far greater than anything caused by Hezbollah's rockets, forcing 100,000 Lebanese to flee and flattening parts of the south but the group continued firing
It showed Israel's continued failure to force the separation of the Lebanon and Gaza conflicts Israel has been unwilling to accept Hezbollah's stance — and American advice — that the only way to stop the group's attacks was to reach a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza
Quote
"[Hezbollah] abandoning [that] stance now would amount to a historic defeat, dealing the group's credibility an even more devastating blow than its security lapses have" the International Crisis Group wrote
A Gaza ceasefire remains unlikely, partly due to Israel's political situation while intense domestic pressure is leading Israel to pursue an increasingly aggressive strategy in Lebanon
Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre told the ABC Australia
Quote
"Israel has pressed all the red buttons, now has bombed civilian areas, caused the mass displacement that Hezbollah was trying to avoid"
Hezbollah has been unwilling to accept diplomatic approaches by the United States that would see it comply with a United Nations Security Council resolution and withdraw from the border region
