US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel for an important visit on Monday. Austin has come to the Jewish state before, in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7
He understands the challenges Israel faces, and in the past has described Hamas crimes as worse than those of ISIS. Today it is imperative that Austin and the US administration continue to back Israel in the campaign against Hamas.
In addition, it is essential to confront and deter threats by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This conflict now has multiple fronts. The US plays a key role in the region in terms of deterring these threats. For instance, when the Hamas war on Israel began, America ordered an aircraft carrier and its strike group to turn around in the Mediterranean and head towards Israel. This helped to deter Hezbollah.
Hezbollah continues its attacks
However, Hezbollah today appears not to be deterred. For instance, the terrorist group carried out a drone attack on Saturday which killed Chief Warrant Officer Yehezkel Azaria, an IDF reservist who was serving in the North. The Hezbollah drone attack is an escalation because it shows how deadly the Lebanon-based terrorist group’s drone arsenal has become. It is believed to have around 2,000 drones and has been using them systematically over the last two months.
Hezbollah also began to increase its attacks on Monday to coincide with Austin’s visit. The group launched rockets at Israel as well as more drone attacks. Terrorists also launched anti-tank missiles at Avivim in northern Israel. In response, IDF artillery struck the threats, the IDF said. However, again, Hezbollah was not deterred, continuing to carry out attacks.
Israel has sought to spotlight the growing Hezbollah threat that has caused 80,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes since October 7. Hezbollah, which serves as a proxy for Iran, is risking a wider war. This could harm Hezbollah and has already destabilized southern Lebanon. The UN was supposed to monitor this and the international community must prevent the continued and endless Hezbollah attacks.
These attacks illustrate how the international community has not done enough to deter Iran and the groups it backs. Hezbollah’s violations of UN Resolution 1701 are now making a mockery of the resolution and the UN. Many countries at the UN have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. However, it is important to note the hypocrisy here.
Where are the calls for Hezbollah to cease fire and stop violating the resolution? Hezbollah’s actions are the kind that lead to expanded conflict.
The Hezbollah problem is also reflected in the lack of action to deter the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. These attacks continued to target ships this week. Many shipping companies are beginning to announce they are pausing transits via the Red Sea, which has serious economic ramifications globally.
More than 20,000 ships use the Red Sea each year, meaning dozens of ships are transiting every day and are being threatened by the Houthis. Now is the time for a maritime task force to confront the Yemen-based Islamic movement. Backed by Iran, they have learned from Hezbollah that they can continue to carry out attacks with impunity. This is all part of the wider Iranian plan, which is to expand the fighting from Gaza and to create more fronts against Israel.
There is an opportunity now for the West to do the right thing and stand by Israel. Austin’s visit, along with the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, gives them a chance to see the region today and understand Iran’s destabilizing influence. As they take in their assessment from Israel’s leadership, they will understand that the time to stop further conflicts is now. Israel must be allowed to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages home without Hezbollah or the Houthis creating more wars and conflict.
This week now represents a turning point in this regard. The Houthis and Hezbollah have dramatically ramped up attacks. Casualties in northern Israel are mounting, Israeli forces continue to be targeted, and ships in the Red Sea are at risk.
With these different threats coming together, Israel’s leadership has the opportunity to express our deep concern with the rising tide of attacks.