Israel Faces More Formidable Hezbollah Dug in From Lebanon
- Rival diplomat tours show each side trying to spin the impasse
- More deadly showdown could come over alleged missile plan
Israeli soldiers gather at the Lebanon-Israel border near reported cross-border tunnels, on Dec. 5.
Photographer: Mahmoud Zayat/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The bulldozers growling as soldiers sealed a tunnel that crossed beneath Lebanon’s border into Israel provided the kind of prop Benjamin Netanyahu loves. The Israeli prime minister told diplomats who’d braved fierce rains that Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, was waiting for just such a foggy day to send attack squads into his country.
“Hezbollah wants to order several battalions into our territory with the aim of isolating communities, cities or kibbutzes, then go on a killing and kidnapping spree,” he said.