Become a Member
Analysis

Ten reasons to celebrate Israel’s crucial ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah

The truest test will be when the residents of the north feel confident in returning and rebuilding their homes

December 2, 2024 14:50
GettyImages-2185772698
Israeli security forces inspect the vicinity of a damaged house in Rinatya village in central Israel at a site hit by rockets fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon on November 24 (Getty Images)
4 min read

V Around a year ago I stood just outside Moshav Avivim, looking into Maroun El Ras. I could see (with binoculars) a large cardboard cutout of former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani ominously pointing south. The Soleimani prop, alongside a model of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, was part of the Iranian Park built by Hezbollah in tribute to the former Iranian military commander, who devised the doctrine of surrounding Israel with brutal proxy armies. The park was set up after he was killed by the US military at the end of President Trump’s first term in January 2020.

What I could not have seen that day was the vast underground network and military infrastructure embedded in villages just like Maroun EL Ras, across the length of the shared border. These underground fortresses that stood ready to facilitate their plan to invade the Galilee have now been destroyed. What seemed unimaginable a year ago as we approach the second Trump administration is now real: Nasrallah and so many of the senior Hezbollah commanders are now reunited with Soleimani.

Unlike the Gaza front that caught everyone by surprise, the IDF had well-prepared plans to decapitate Hezbollah and they appear to have been implemented with a high level of competence and sophistication. As well as removing the infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the border and killing the high command, the IDF were successful in removing at least 70 per cent of the missile array held by Hezbollah a year ago. Weapons storage and manufacturing, too, have been set back decades. Hezbollah has been severely decimated – but not completely vanquished. Nevertheless, here are ten reasons why a ceasefire was the right decision.