Another war could break out on the Israel-Lebanon border

The brightIDF winter sun playing over caves in the pockmarked cliffs and the views out over the Mediterranean are idyllic. Yet look more closely at the seemingly peaceful view from the point where Israel’s border with Lebanon meets the sea, and menace lurks. Naval patrol boats loiter close to the shore, their guns bristling in readiness. A normally popular tourist attraction is deserted save for armoured vehicles. A short drive up the wooded mountainside just south of the border fence reveals dozens of camouflaged bivouacs where paratroopers of the Israel Defence Forces () have been deployed since October 7th, the day of a devastating surprise attack by on Israeli communities and army bases in the south.Though the scenery is tranquil, the risks are rapidly mounting of a full-blown war between Israel and , the Iran-backed Lebanese party and militia. Especially since a blast on January 2nd in Beirut’s Dahiye neighbourhood, Hizbullah’s main stronghold. The explosion, attributed to an Israeli drone strike, killed Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader close to Iran, as well as several other commanders. Hizbullah responded by saying the killing would not go without “punishment” and that it has its “finger on the trigger”. Even before this strike, some European officials worried that the front could erupt within days or weeks.