Israel has decimated Hezbollah's leadership in strikes over the past week, while also killing hundreds of civilians and displacing nearly 1 million people from their homes.
Hezbollah's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed on Friday in an Israeli attack on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut. The United States said justice had been served against Nasrallah, Iran's key ally in the region.
But Washington is also seeking a diplomatic solution to a conflict that is increasingly approaching full-scale war, especially as Israel threatens a ground invasion.
Israel expanded airstrikes across Lebanon over the weekend and on Monday hit central Beirut for the first time in months. Local officials said more than 1,000 civilians have been killed across Lebanon in the past week, including 100 on Sunday.
“There is no guarantee of safe space in Lebanon,” said Jihan Kaisi, head of an organization that supports displaced people. told NBC News.
Here are five pressing questions about the conflict.
Will Israel launch a ground invasion?
Multiple media outlets reported on Monday that Israel had notified the United States of its plans to launch a limited ground invasion of Lebanon as soon as Monday.
The Washington Post reported that Israeli forces carried out limited raids across the border on Monday. Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit is believed to be hiding in tunnels near the border.
“The Radwan forces cannot be destroyed from the air, no matter how many times we attack them,” Miri Eisin, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer, told the Post. “To get to the underground arena, which is a few kilometers from the Israeli border, you have to go inside.”
U.S. officials said they had heard that Israel would not launch a full-scale invasion.
“At this point they are telling us that these are limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border, but we are We are in ongoing discussions with them regarding this.”
Israel has repeatedly threatened to send troops to Lebanon to thwart the threat of an attack on northern Israel, and the country's top commander this week and last week directed troops to prepare for a ground invasion.
“The goal is very clear: the safe return of the northern population,” Chief of Staff Helj Halevi told the military on Wednesday. “To achieve that, we are preparing a process of maneuver, which means that your military boots, your maneuver boots will enter enemy territory and enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts. is.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday signaled to the military that a ground invasion was imminent.
“Eliminating Nasrallah is a very important step, but it is not the last step,” Gallant said during a visit to the military in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border. “We use all the capabilities at our disposal, and even if someone on the other side doesn’t understand what those capabilities mean, we mean all of them. You are part of this effort.”
Ground warfare can be costly.
Israel will have to commit significant forces to this battle, which will likely be worse than the 2006 war with Hezbollah, which lasted 34 days and resulted in heavy losses and little victory for both sides. I didn't leave anything behind.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that a ground war would not help Israel achieve its goals in the north and instead called for a diplomatic solution.
“If we go into all-out war, it won't solve the problem. People won't be able to go back to their homes,” Blinken told ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
Who is currently leading Hezbollah?
On the other side of the conflict, Hezbollah is reeling from the death of its charismatic leader, but five other commanders have been killed in the past 10 days, bringing the number of deaths to more than 20 in recent months.
In his first public speech since the Beirut attack, the group's new acting president, Naim Qassem, vowed on Friday to continue fighting Israel and said Lebanese militants were ready for any ground invasion. said.
“We will face all odds. If the Israelis decide to invade by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground battle, we will be ready,” he said in a televised address. said.
Since 1991, Qasem has served as deputy secretary general of the US-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah. attended the meeting This led to the formation of Hezbollah in 1982 as a proxy for Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.
He is the main face of the group internationally and has given interviews to foreign media. In Lebanon, he has worked as a coordinator for parliamentary election campaigns.
In a speech on Monday, Qassem said a permanent replacement for Nasrallah would be appointed as soon as possible, adding that the organization's military capabilities were not affected by the deaths within its leadership.
How will Iran react?
Israel's attack on Hezbollah, Iran's main proxy, dealt a significant blow to the Iranian government.
Israel's attack on Lebanon, coupled with the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, appears to have scared Iran, leaving the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in hiding. Reuters reported on Saturday.
Iran has yet to take any major retaliation over Haniyeh, and sources told Reuters that Iran is working with Hezbollah and others in the region to decide how to respond to Nasrallah's killing. He said he is in contact with the agency. In addition to supporting Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran also supplies weapons to the Houthis in Yemen and numerous militias in Syria and Iraq.
“The fate of the region will be determined by the resistance forces, led by Hezbollah,” Khamenei said in a statement on Saturday.
In another statement he declared that “the blood of the martyrs will not go unavenged.”
One option for retaliation would be for Iran to pressure its proxies to increase attacks on Israeli and U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East.
With the US supplying weapons to Israel, attacks on US military bases could be stepped up, given that Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian has already blamed the US in part for Nasrallah's killing. seems to be high.
“Americans cannot deny collusion,” he said in a statement aired on state media.
What is the status of ceasefire negotiations?
The United States has encouraged diplomacy between Israel and Hezbollah, but neither side has shown any desire for peace or compromise.
President Biden's efforts to distance Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from military escalation in both Gaza and Lebanon have shown little sign of success.
Last week, hours after the US announced a “significant breakthrough” in halting fighting for 21 days, Netanyahu rejected the idea.
Mr. Biden has been largely reluctant to use U.S. influence to change Israel's behavior, and the United States last week approved $8 billion in additional arms deliveries to the ally.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would do whatever was necessary to allow the return of Israelis who fled when Hezbollah began shelling Israel in response to its invasion of Gaza a year ago.
Reportedly, Israel “Breakthrough” rejected In US-brokered talks with Hezbollah last week.
“My policy, our policy is clear. We will continue to attack Hezbollah with all our might. We will not stop until we achieve all our goals,” Netanyahu said upon arriving in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke to reporters at the time.
Biden said Sunday that he plans to speak directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon.
How will it affect the US election?
Concerns about a larger war in the Middle East have refocused attention on one of Vice President Harris' political responsibilities in foreign policy.
Mr. Biden is facing a large-scale protest vote in the Democratic primary over his support for Israel's war in Gaza, and continued Israeli aggression in the region, especially as a ceasefire in Gaza remains elusive. , it is likely that the government will continue to incur anger against the government.
Michigan has the largest Lebanese population in the country and is part of the “Blue Wall” seen as critical to Harris' path to the White House.
Harris said Nasrallah's death brought “a measure of justice” for the victims, but said diplomacy was the best path to stability in the region.
“I have an unwavering commitment to Israel's security. I will always support Iran and its right to protect Israel from Iranian-backed terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.”
Former President Trump has largely avoided commenting on the situation in Lebanon, but Republicans more broadly criticized the Biden administration's push for a ceasefire and said the U.S. should support Netanyahu's tough approach against Hezbollah. claims.
President Trump has repeatedly said the wars in Ukraine and Gaza did not happen on his watch, but has offered a meager plan to end them if he returns to the Oval Office.
