Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN that Hezbollah “must respond” to Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon.
“Now that Israel is beginning to end the war in Gaza, they are turning north,” he said. “Israel is really trying to change the situation on the ground and create some sense of security on its northern border.”
Although Hezbollah’s response to Israel’s killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut suburb in July was “relatively muted,” Jones said Hezbollah now had no choice but to retaliate.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) previously estimated that Hezbollah has about 150,000 rockets and missiles, including thousands of precision munitions.
