Israel, after a few years of mute, returns to play a more visible role in the Middle East. The evolution of the situation in Syria forced Tel Aviv to engage in the front line also from the military point of view.
The Maariv newspaper reports a clear analysis of Israeli intelligence (Yossi Melman), stressed by the idea that Iran and its successor Hezbollah have significantly increased their power in Syria, becoming a real (and closer) danger to the Jewish state and Zionism in general. The idea that Tel Aviv has made Hezbollah in particular, has changed a lot since the 2006 Lebanon war. The Lebanese Lebanese high performance, above all against Israeli armored forces, had a strong impact on public opinion as well. In the imagination of Tel Aviv, Hezbollah evolved from motivated, but disordered, guerrilla movement, capable of approaching war in a modern and technological way, with a know-how improved by the Syrian experience.
Israeli concerns specifically concern Hezbollah's ability to export its threat in the form of advisor against other movements traditionally hostile to the Zionist cause. This is the case of Houthi militants in Yemen, assisted directly by the Lebanese Shiite circuit, especially in ballistic arrangements and naval naval capabilities along the Red Sea coast.
Already in October of 2016 Hezbollah had divulged the creation of a body of underwater raiders in Yemen, ready to hit the Saudis and their allies in the western ports of the Arabian Peninsula. The speech becomes even more serious with regard to Hamas, which according to Israeli intelligence is already in possession of numerous small naval units with highly trained crews (from Hezbollah) capable of harming along the Israeli coast.
Already in the 2014 during the operation Protective Edge in the Gaza conflict, the military with the star of David neutralized 4 Palestinian underwater raiders. According to Yossi Melman, the increased naval potential manifests itself also with the anti-ship missiles, tragically experimented by the corvette Hanit (photo) in July 2006, hit by a Hezbollah C-802.
Both as a direct threat and because of its indirect presence in different scenarios, the Lebanese Party of God remains the main concern for Israel. For the time being, the only blatant military response is the raids against government forces in southern Syria, aimed at reducing Damascus's potential, including Hezbollah.
(photo: web)
