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Analysis

Israel mulls 3 options against Lebanon's Hezbollah, including full-scale war

The Biden administration is pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid war with Hezbollah and strive for an agreement.

TOPSHOT - A picture shows a Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system launching to intercept rockets being fired from Lebanon, next to the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona, near the near the Lebanon border on May 10, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture shows a Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system launching to intercept rockets being fired from Lebanon near the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona and the Lebanese border on May 10, 2024. — JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

TEL AVIV — As violence on Israel’s northern border escalates with several drone attacks launched from Lebanon, the Biden administration is trying to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch an all-out war against Hezbollah.

An explosive drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Wednesday evening blew up on a soccer field at the entrance to the Upper Galilee Druze community of Hurfeish, where a military reserve unit was deployed. Even as the soldiers were tending to the wounded and evacuating them from the site, another drone crossed the border and exploded in the same place. The combined attack killed one soldier and wounded nine, two of them seriously. 

The Lebanese group also claimed Wednesday to have hit an Iron Dome launcher with a guided missile in what could be the first hit on Israel's state-of-the-art defense system. Hezbollah released a video that appeared to support its claims and reveal cracks in Israel's defenses.

Hezbollah finds chinks in Israeli armor

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