I described Israel’s 2025 Lebanon campaign as both a tactical and a strategic success because, for once, Bibi exercised some restraint. As a result, public opinion in Lebanon started to shift against Hezbollah, and the government showed some real interest in regaining control of areas close to Israel. Real peace was at last a real possibility.
But Bibi couldn’t resist grabbing for the whole marshmallow after Hezbollah launched a fairly feeble attack in response to the Iran campaign. Now Israel is looking at a lengthy ground war and an indefinite occupation of the border areas. That didn’t work before; why would things be different now?