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Israel killed a top Hezbollah leader late Tuesday during a two-day bombing campaign that has left hundreds dead and thousands more displaced. The bombing is the latest event in a nearly year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has escalated notably in the past week after a coordinated sequence of attacks that targeted the pagers and hand radios of members of Hezbollah. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the pager attacks, though the U.S. has said Israel is responsible
Hezbollah is Lebanon’s largest militant group, with strong political and social influence within Lebanon and support from Iran. The group, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, was formed in 1982 as a response to Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon. Though Israel has long conceded control of the region, the group is still active.
The U.S. recently announced it was sending “a small number” of additional troops to the Middle East to aid in Israel's defense.
Outlets on the right praised Israel for the strength of the attack and called on America to support Israel. Outlets on the left focused on a call for peace, citing the already high death toll of the conflict and the precedent set by previous Israel-Hezbollah conflicts. Many called once again for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The National Review Editorial Board (Right bias) penned an opinion arguing “Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah deserves the full support of the U.S.,” adding, “Neutralizing the group that has killed hundreds of Americans and has been designated as a terrorist organization for as long as the State Department has maintained an official list would help defang Iran and bring more stability to the region.” The writers also criticized the Biden Administration for not doing more to aid Israel.
A writer for the Los Angeles Times (Lean Left bias) also criticized the Biden administration for their lack of action, but for another reason. The writer argued: “Biden has repeatedly failed to follow through on the most likely path to preventing a regional war: pressing for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, particularly by using U.S. leverage to withhold billions of dollars in weapons shipments to Israel,” citing that “All of Iran’s allies, especially Hezbollah, have indicated that they would stop their attacks on Israel once the fighting in Gaza ends.”
A writer for the New York Post Opinion (Right bias) discussed the implications of the U.S. backing Israel in a war against Hezbollah, arguing that “with an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 rockets pummeling Israel daily, and the Iron Dome batteries potentially overwhelmed, the United States would be called upon to come to Israel’s aid with its own sea-borne anti-missile systems.” The writer acknowledges the opposition to war from Americans and their attempts at a diplomatic agreement, but ultimately argues that “no end to Hezbollah’s aggression seems possible” and “Israel will act to defend itself, and Israelis will look to our American allies to assist us in restoring our security.”
A writer for the Washington Post (Lean Left bias) took a nuanced approach, neither urging Israel to war nor calling for a cease-fire. The writer claimed, “The spillover of the Gaza war into Lebanon this month might have seemed inevitable, but it wasn’t. This was a war that both sides had hoped to avoid,” but “the hard logic of war proved stronger than the soft logic of peace. Hezbollah wouldn’t stop firing rockets; Israel wouldn’t stop retaliating. The two sides moved up the ladder — and the United States couldn’t stop them.” The writer continued, writing that he wished he “had answers to the questions that haunt all of us as we watch the Middle East shattered by an ever-widening war. The only things that seem clear to me are that total victory is an illusion in this conflict, and that security is essential.”
