Israel faces mounting challenges as 2-front war looms

Israel faces mounting challenges as 2-front war looms

 ILH Staff

As Israel continues its operations in Gaza, war tensions are escalating in the north. If the conflict in Lebanon significantly intensifies, Israel will face unprecedented and complex challenges. 

Israel Hayom reporters shed light on the expected scenarios of high–intensity fighting on two fronts, examining the impacts on the military, society, foreign relations, and economy.

Military Preparedness: Troops strained, but united 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has recently completed its preparations for a war in the northern arena, with senior officials threatening that upon completion of the operation in Rafah, they can focus on the greater threat from the north. However, after nine months of war in Gaza and fighting with Hezbollah, if war breaks out in the coming days, it seems the IDF may not be at its peak strength.

The IDF faces concerns about "ammunition economization" in the event of a severe escalation on the northern border. The fact that the United States, which initially supplied Israel with considerable ammunition, has slowed down shipments and halted the delivery of bombs to the Israeli Air Force, is very worrying for the military and may influence Israel's decision to initiate a war in the north at this time.

Additionally, there's the question of wear and tear on regular and reserve forces. The regular army has been fighting and training for eight and a half months without a break, many reservists have served 100 or 200 days or more in the past year, and psychologically, everyone has gone through challenging experiences that require processing.

Another issue is air defense. The military estimates that air defense systems will not be able to protect all populated areas, so defense will focus on infrastructure vital to the war effort, leaving the civilian home front in Israel vulnerable to unprecedented threats. The only way Israel can deal with this threat is to directly strike not only Hezbollah but Lebanon itself, as a sovereign state from whose territory Israel is being attacked.

Diplomatic challenges

A scenario of a full–scale war between Israel and Hezbollah is certainly a cause for great concern for the international community, especially in the West. The consequences of such a war could lead to further disruption of supply chains and trade, possible increases in fuel prices, and damage to tourism in the region.

But this is nothing compared to the possibility that such a war would generate a new wave of refugees that countries like Turkey or EU members would have to deal with. Europe has already absorbed millions of refugees from Ukraine, and a war now would also come at a very problematic time for the EU and European countries.

More...