As the people of Lebanon come to terms with the attacks on communication devices that killed and maimed many, the Israeli public seems divided between elation over the attacks and nervousness over potential repercussions.In a region where nerves are at breaking point as Israel’s war on Gaza approaches a year, this escalation is the latest in a series of concerning developments.
In addition to killing at least 41,000 people in its war on a blockaded enclave, Israel has traded threatening repartee with Iran, bombed Yemen in retaliation for a Houthi drone attack, and traded fire near-constantly with Hezbollah throughout.
Celebration
On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, thousands of communication devices belonging to Hezbollah exploded in what appeared to be a series of coordinated detonations across Lebanon and Syria.
At the time of writing, 32 people have been killed, including two children, and thousands injured, many maimed or permanently disfigured, as a result of the attacks.
The stakes are lost on few within Israel, sources said, where elation over the novelty and ingenuity of the attacks freely mixes with concern over their consequences.
Few regard the threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah to have been significantly reduced by the attacks.
Israel has been massing troops to the north – ostensibly in a bid to allow the return of 60,000 residents evacuated from there amidst the tit-for-tat attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.
“The …