It’s been a long-held belief of many of Israel’s top military chiefs that Hezbollah – owned by Iran – stands in Israel’s way to lasting peace in the wider region.
The terror network isn’t a peacemaker at all. It holds a grip in Lebanon that suppresses legitimate economic activity and stifles most of its development.
The network is said to have been cored by the late Ali Khamenei, emptied of its founding doctrines and filled with his own ambition for the end of Israeli security.
The calculated mentality of its fighters shows a drivenness to expel Jews from the Middle East, a strategic goal now held by Tehran’s political and social elite.
The focus on its elimination is a military objective that may frighten some, but the daily reality of instability for all its citizens means Israel won’t let go.