Traveling to Metula, the northernmost town of Israel, is a solitary journey over a spit of land encircled by Lebanon on three sides.
That implies that Hezbollah, the most potent armed group in Lebanon, encircles it on three sides as well.
All of the guys at the checkpoint on the outskirts of Metula were locals, primarily middle-aged reservists who had realistic expectations about the force present across the border.
One of them who wished to remain anonymous used his finger to navigate the compass, indicating the border and Hezbollah’s whereabouts while the rain poured down on a gloomy, misty night.
“To the west a quarter of a mile, to north half a mile and another half mile to the east. So, we are 300 degrees surrounded by the Hezbollah.” The other 60 degrees, he said, included the steep road back down to the rest of Israel.
The horrific Gaza war began on October 7, when Hamas attacked and murdered almost 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. Since then, the Israeli offensive has killed well over 27,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and severely damaged Gaza.
Following, the border dispute between Israel and Hezbollah has gotten worse over time, but everyone involved is aware of how much worse it might grow if it broke out into a full-scale war. For the men standing guard on the outskirts of Metula, it was obvious and stark.
“Yes, it definitely can turn into a big war, and a big war with Hezbollah is not like Hamas; they are a real army, very trained, greatly equipped, and they have a lot of experience, real experience in Syria,” the Israeli reservist went on. Hezbollah entered the Syrian conflict and fought on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
There has been no attempt by Mr. Blinken to downplay the severity of the Middle East problem. Standing next to the NATO secretary general at the end of January, he described it as “incredibly volatile.” I contend that, at the very least, since 1973 and possibly even earlier we have not encountered a circumstance in the region as perilous as the one we are currently in.
