
As the Israeli army mounted its response to the massacre of hundreds of civilians by Hamas this weekend, it sent tanks and troops not only to the scene of the atrocities, but to its northern border with Lebanon.
It was a recognition, borne from experience, that an all-out offensive against Gaza is unlikely to be contained there. To Israel’s north lies a much more formidable foe, and ally of Hamas, the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.