Israel must accept only way to secure the North is to eliminate Hezbollah - editorial

It’s time

This refusal should surprise no one who has been paying attention. History appears to be repeating itself. Israel witnessed an almost identical refusal of engagement from Qassem and Hezbollah on April 27.

When an adversary tells Israel, repeatedly and clearly, that it has no intention of talking, it is the height of naivety for the government to continue acting as though a diplomatic solution is just around the corner. For the Jewish state, the safety of northern residents is not a theoretical chip to be played in a game of “wait and see.” It is a necessity.

Israel was hesitant to enter this arrangement from the outset. US President Donald Trump announced the deal while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still on the phone with the security cabinet. The cabinet had not yet reached a formal decision, but the momentum of international expectation forced Israel’s hand.

The country was cornered into a “goodwill gesture” that many in the security establishment knew was built on sand.

Despite these reservations, Israel acted with restraint. It gave the process a genuine chance. Jerusalem facilitated channels for talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, hoping the government in Beirut might finally exert some measure of sovereignty over its own territory.

Israel waited for the Lebanese Armed Forces to move south. It waited for international observers to observe.

The results of this patience have been measured in sirens and shrapnel. Since the ceasefire officially began, Hezbollah has violated the terms of the agreement dozens of times.

Whether through targeted rocket fire, the positioning of armed operatives inside the prohibited buffer zone, or the continued smuggling of Iranian hardware, the terrorist group has treated the ceasefire not as a road to peace but as a logistical window.

In response to these provocations, the IDF has been forced to strike more than 100 Hezbollah targets to prevent immediate threats. These are not Israeli “escalations.” They are the maintenance of a failing status quo. Each strike is a reminder that the Lebanese state is either unwilling or unable to restrain the Iranian proxy in its midst.

The hard truth is that this ceasefire is not working. Diplomacy requires two parties willing to compromise or, at the very least, to sit at the same table. With Qassem’s latest rejection, Israel has neither.

What exists instead is a strategic pause that serves only the enemy.

By maintaining this paper ceasefire, Israel is giving Hezbollah exactly what it needs: air. The terrorist group is being allowed to reorganize, re-tunnel, and rearm under the umbrella of international protection. Every day the IDF holds back its full military weight is a day Hezbollah uses to prepare its next assault on Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, and Nahariya.

Israel cannot allow residents of the North to become permanent refugees in their own country while waiting for a diplomatic breakthrough that Hezbollah has already signaled will never come.

The effort was made. The chance was given. What started as a shoddy 10-day ceasefire became a three-week amnesty period for one side.

Israel must now face reality: The only way to secure the North at this time is to remove the threat physically. The IDF must return to the offensive with the clear objective of dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure beyond the point of rapid repair.

This is not a call for endless war. It is a recognition that a fake peace is more dangerous than an honest conflict.