Israel’s North Is Burning

On the night of June 3, vast parts of northern Israel went up in flames after Hezbollah fired rockets on the area. The raging fires burned more than 3,000 acres.

They are a painful reminder that the protracted war in Gaza not only is devastating for the people of Gaza and a threat to lives of the hostages held by Hamas, but also has serious consequences for northern Israel, much of which has become a largely abandoned war zone since October. It is increasingly evident that without a cease-fire, the situation at the northern border could rapidly deteriorate into a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The two fronts have been linked from the very start of the war. Hezbollah entered the conflict on Oct. 8, firing on Israeli military positions in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights less than 24 hours after the Hamas attack from Gaza. Israel has since been locked in an arduous, albeit confined, war of attrition with almost daily exchanges of missiles, armed drones and rocket fire that demand constant and robust military manpower and resources.

The full article can be read on the New York Times website.