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But the operations do not fundamentally alter the situation Israel faces in the north and in a way even highlights the need for change.
A heavy price was exacted from Iran on Saturday morning over its long-distance management of the war against Israel. Five "Senior military advisors" were killed when a residential building in Damascus was targeted, while senior Iranian officials were there. Among the dead, according to reports, was the head of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards Quds force in Syria, his deputy and two other members of the force.
This is yet another blow to Iran after Rezza Mousavi, one of the IRGC's leading member in Syria, was killed last month. Iran said it maintains the right to respond to the killings at a time of its choosing and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisis threatened "The Israeli crime would not go unanswered."
Hours after the strike in Damascus, reports from Lebanon said four people were killed in an attack attributed to Israel, in the area of Tyre in South Lebanon. Two were in a car that was attacked and two others, were killed nearby. If the IDF was behind the killings, they would be a significant part of the wider war against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.
But the question Israel must consider is how to fundamentally alter the reality created in the north in the past three months after Israel in effect created a security zone within its own borders leaving communities abandoned. It seems the government is unwilling to pay the heavy price of war with Lebanon in order to save the communities and fields in its north.
Some senior officers in the IDF now want that to change. "Its time for a new equation," they say. When the war against Hamas began, the IDF adopted a policy of tit for tat and responded only to attacks from across the border. That policy has changed, and the military has been initiating air raids against Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon daily.
The commanders believe the IDF should announce that it would hold its fire for 48 hours, but warn that the next missile, rocket or bomb that lands in Israeli territory, especially on a civilian target, will prompt a massive response that would wreak havoc on south Lebanon, including on homes of Hezbollah operatives in the Shi'ite villages in the area, that have thus far been mostly spared. Quiet will be met by quiet but fire will be met by a disproportionate response, they suggest, adding that the IDF's hands have been tied by the politicians and that the current situation is dangerous.
Israel, they say ignores the fact the Hezbollah has much to lose from an uptick in the fighting so it is time to act, in coordination with the U.S, so as not to seem keen to extend the war, and present the Iran-backed group the chance for quiet along the border by a unilateral cessation of fire, while also creating the legitimacy for a broader action that would ultimately bring security back to the north.
"Why are we waiting for the Radwan force to strike?" one said. "Why are we increasing our forces, laying in wait? Hezbollah initiated the fighting and it should be the one fearing our forces. This equation must change. "
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with IDF commanders in the north
(Photo: Defense Ministry )
Now all they need is for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Ministry Yoav Gallant to agree. Gallant toured the north on Friday and from what he said it was clear that he does not think the current attacks against Hezbollah were enough.
"We are trying to exhaust diplomatic efforts but if we have to, we must use force to allow resident in the north to return home," he said.