Israel lands heavy blows on Hezbollah, but victory could prove elusive

It has been a devastating week for Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon.

Bombs hidden in the group’s pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands – many of them Hezbollah members. An Israeli strike in Beirut killed one of its top commanders. And Israel has bombed what it said were 1,600 militant sites across large parts of Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands.

Israel says its objective is to secure the border so that tens of thousands of people who fled under Hezbollah fire nearly a year ago can return to their homes. But it’s far from clear that its recent operations – as tactically successful as they were – will bring that about.

“No one either in or out of the defence establishment has any clue as to how to translate these brilliant operational achievements into political benefit, into a real victory that will stop the war in the north,” columnist Nadav Eyal wrote in Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

“As long as Hezbollah retains any firepower, the northern border will not be able to return to normal.”