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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">Israel's 'battle between wars' has failed</h1><p class="gmail-">The
Lebanese resistance has utterly gutted Israel's years-long strategy of
denying its access to weapons. Tel Aviv's strikes on Syria have failed
to impede Hezbollah's arms, which grow qualitatively and quantitatively
with each passing day, and are now produced en masse domestically.</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/khalil-nasrallah" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">Khalil Nasrallah</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>APR 2, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israels-battle-between-wars-has-failed">https://thecradle.co/articles/israels-battle-between-wars-has-failed</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/ec60e704-f108-11ee-8c24-00163e02c055.webp" alt="" width="395" height="187" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo Credit: The Cradle)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><blockquote><p>Work
is ongoing to open new warehouses and bring in new land, sea, and air
missiles that are more accurate and of higher quality. What we used to
store in six months before 7 October, we now restock in a month.</p></blockquote><p>So
said Hezbollah resource and border official Nawaf al-Musawi, one of the
Lebanese resistance's strategic minds and a former deputy in Lebanon's
parliament. His 26 March disclosure carries significant weight amid the
ongoing war in Gaza and notable <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/hiding-the-ratio-israel-conceals-200-troop-deaths-on-lebanon-front">escalations</a> between
Hezbollah and the Israeli forces, particularly along the southern
Lebanese front, where events inch closer to full-scale warfare.</p><p>Musawi's
big reveal is evidence that Israel has not only failed to prevent the
supply of quality weapons to Hezbollah but that the resistance group has
managed to accelerate its accumulation of armaments in the past half
year.</p><p>More importantly, it demonstrates that Tel Aviv's escalated
strikes on Syria have failed altogether. Since the outbreak of the
Syrian conflict in 2011, the Israeli attacks, described by Tel Aviv as
the "<a href="https://www.jusoor.co/en/details/the-israeli-counter-iran-strategy-in-syria">battle between wars</a>,"
had several objectives, foremost among them to prevent the arrival –
via Syrian territory – of a "balance-breaker" weapon that could surprise
or even cripple Israel's defenses. And, of course, to impede the
quantitative flow of arms to the Lebanese resistance.</p><p>To grasp the
significance of war developments since 7 October, it's imperative to
delve into the historical context of the "battle between wars" strategy
initiated by Israel in Syria. Through this campaign, Tel Aviv has tried
to prevent the growing armament capabilities of the resistance across
various domains, thereby securing its own superiority in multiple
spheres and pre-empting Hezbollah's ability to dictate qualitative terms
even in the event of a full-scale war.</p><p><strong>Syria's 'battle between wars' </strong></p><p>Following
the civil war in Syria in 2011 and the influx of
western–Arab–Turkish-backed armed extremists to overthrow the Syrian
government, concerns arose within Israel about the potential transfer of
advanced weaponry from Damascus to the Lebanese resistance.</p><p>Concurrently,
Tehran's involvement in Syria, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) working to enhance Hezbollah's precision weapons, drones,
and air defenses, further heightened these apprehensions.</p><p>In turn,
Israel initiated the "battle between wars" aimed at preventing the
transfer of "game-changing" weapons to Hezbollah – including precision
armaments, air defense systems, seaborne missiles, advanced drones,
military techniques, and manufacturing technologies – disrupting the
supply route to the Lebanese resistance, undermining the Syrian army's
armament and capabilities, keeping Iran away from occupied-Palestine's
borders and establishing a "security belt" extending 40 to 80 kilometers
into the occupied Syrian Golan.</p><p>To achieve these objectives, the
campaign in Syria unfolded in stages. Initially, it involved supporting
armed groups with the support of the US and Persian Gulf states. They
aimed to gain control over southern Syria and dismantle Syrian air
defense units, thereby granting Israel unhindered access to the
country's airspace. </p><p>This strategy proved successful until <a href="https://www.economist.com/pomegranate/2013/01/31/a-rare-israeli-attack-on-syria">31 January 2013</a>, when
Israel directly intervened by launching the first attack conducted by
the Israeli Air Force, targeting the Scientific Research Center in the
Jamraya area of the Damascus countryside. Israeli media portrayed this
strike as disrupting a convoy purportedly bound for Lebanon.</p><p>Since
then, Israel has repeatedly violated Syria's sovereignty, having
conducted 288 air operations in Syria on thousands of assets that Tel
Aviv describes as arms shipments, air defense systems, "Syrian, Iranian
positions," infrastructure, high-quality weapons stores, scientific
research centers, radar sites, civilian and military airports, and other
sites.</p><p>In response to Israel's aggression and the stated
objectives of its Syria campaign, Hezbollah and its allies embarked on a
fierce security war, succeeding in disrupting Tel Aviv's objectives.</p><p>Furthermore,
Hezbollah has embarked on a project to domestically manufacture
missiles and drones within Lebanon, a fact acknowledged by Israeli
political circles, research institutes, and former generals. In this
context, Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly characterized
the so-called battle between wars as a failure.</p><p>In a 2022 address, Nasrallah <a href="https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/287941-nasrallah-hizbullah-making-precision-missiles-drones-inside-lebanon">stated</a>:
"I tell the Israelis that what they call a 'battle between wars' has
turned the threat into an opportunity for the resistance." </p><p>"We now possess the ability to transform our thousands of rockets into precision-guided missiles," Nasrallah added.</p><p><strong>After Operation Al-Aqsa Flood</strong></p><p>Which
brings us to the present day. Following the Palestinian resistance's 7
October Al-Aqsa Flood operation, the Israeli Prime Minister declared a
state of war, igniting the war front in southern Lebanon the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/8/israel-hezbollah-exchange-fire-raising-regional-tensions">very next day</a> and plunging all of West Asia into a state of insecurity. </p><p>In
response, Israel hurriedly launched strikes in Syria, disrupting Aleppo
International Airport and Damascus Airport on 12 October 2023. These
preemptive actions were driven by fears that the Axis of Resistance
could utilize these airports to transport weaponry and fighters.</p><p>Over
the past six months, Israel has conducted 30 attacks targeting more
than a hundred sites across various regions of Syria, including the
north, south, east, and center. These strikes encompassed assassinations
and the targeting of Iranian advisors involved in supporting the
resistance, notably General <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-mousavi-revolutionary-guards-killed-israel/32746803.html">Razi Mousavi</a>, responsible for aiding the resistance front in Syria, and most recently, the 1 April strike on the <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-airstrike-flattens-iranian-consulate-in-damascus">Iranian consulate</a> in Damascus, killing senior Iranian military advisors safeguarding the Quds Force, led by Brigadier General <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/mohammad-reza-zahedi-who-was-the-iranian-commander-killed-in-an-israeli-strike-in-syria">Mohammad Reza Zahedi</a>.</p><p>An
analysis of the nature of these attacks reveals Tel Aviv's strategic
maneuvers to circumvent wartime constraints, including on the Lebanese
front, albeit within certain limitations. These strikes were aimed at
disrupting the resistance's armaments in Lebanon, weakening resistance
positions in Syria, and exacting reprisals against Iranian figures
supporting the resistance forces. </p><p><strong>Hezbollah brings out the big guns</strong></p><p>Amidst
the ongoing confrontation, the resistance has showcased several types
of advanced weaponry, signaling its preparedness and capabilities and
warning off the enemy by forcing its military to step back and
recalibrate its attainable objectives. </p><p>Since 8 October, those
reveals have included the Almas – or "Diamond" – missile, which carries a
camera in its head, hits fixed and moving targets, has a range of more
than ten kilometers, and has been used in several operations, most
notably hitting the "Meron" base and successfully penetrating Israeli
tank defenses.</p><p>Precision-hit drones have also been used in several
operations, including targeting Israel's Northern Command headquarters,
its army positions, armored vehicles, and tanks.</p><p>We have also seen unidentified Hezbollah air defense missiles successfully <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-says-it-downed-israeli-drone-over-lebanese-territory-2024-02-26/">intercepting</a> Israeli
drones, such as the Hermes 450, and neutralizing others flying over
border areas, as confirmed by resistance statements. In addition, we
have seen modified Burkan and Falaq-1 rockets with high destructive
capabilities, targeting Israeli military sites, troop gatherings, and
illegal settlements. </p><p>While these revelations represent only a
fraction of the resistance's arsenal, they illustrate its success in
accumulating weaponry deemed by Israelis as destabilizing the regional
balance. Hezbollah's ability to procure and potentially domestically
manufacture and develop such armaments over preceding years is further
proof of its strategic prowess.</p><p><strong>A losing 'battle'</strong></p><p>It
is undeniable that Israeli actions have resulted in casualties within
the ranks of the resistance, particularly evident in their constant
violations of Syria's sovereignty, using it as a battleground to settle
scores against Iran. </p><p>Nevertheless, the strategic implications of
these actions have not halted the resilience of the resistance. Despite
the ongoing conflict, the resistance accumulates capabilities and
bolsters its qualitative armament in unprecedented numbers.</p><p>Ali Haidar, an expert on Israeli affairs, informs <i>The Cradle</i> that
Hezbollah's ongoing arming during the current war signifies the failure
of Israel's "battle between wars" strategy. He emphasizes that
Hezbollah's continued accumulation of weaponry illustrates the enduring
effectiveness of its deterrence umbrella over strategic facilities. </p><p>According
to Haidar, "There is a new phase that Hezbollah has risen to, which
constitutes an additional challenge to the enemy entity and its will to
confront."</p><p>The group's uninterrupted accumulation of weapons during these years, Haidar says, shows that: </p><blockquote><p>Hezbollah's
deterrence strategy continues to protect its strategic facilities, and
that this umbrella is very effective, contrary to the impression created
by Israel carrying out some strikes here and there. This is also
reflected in the level of development reached by the resistance in
expertise and production and its determination to improve those
capabilities.</p></blockquote><p>The ongoing battle between wars has
seen the resistance in Lebanon significantly augmenting its weapons
capabilities in terms of quantity, quality, and diversity. This
represents a substantial strategic setback for Israel, which has
expended vast sums on its strategy in Syria without achieving its
objectives. </p><p>The impact of Hezbollah's significant armament
operation will undoubtedly influence Israeli war calculations,
especially if Tel Aviv's War Council favors stepping up hostilities
against Lebanon. The ramifications of these efforts in terms of
armaments during the war will be keenly felt as the battle edges closer
to war. </p></span></div></div></div></div>
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