Israel, Hezbollah And Potential For Full-Scale War

On October 8, the day after Hamas’ attack on Israel, Hezbollah launched an opportunistic attack on three Israeli posts in the Israel-Lebanon-Syria border region, claiming to be acting “in solidarity” with the Palestinian people. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have traded thousands of rocket and missile attacks on a near-daily basis. The tempo and intensity of attacks has increased in the past several weeks and some analysts are warning that full-scale war is “becoming inevitable.” Preventing escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict has been a primary strategic goal of the Biden Administration since October 7 – one it has pursued through diplomatic engagement and military deterrence. On Thursday, June 20, J Street Policy Director Dr. Debra Shushan was joined by Lebanese journalist and Washington Institute senior fellow Hanin Ghaddar, former Deputy Head of Israel’s National Security Council Eran Etzion, and Brookings senior fellow and former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel to discuss the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the likely consequences of a full-scale war, and what can be done by the Biden Administration and others to prevent it.