Cross-border fire has been near constant since Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, with Hezbollah—a fellow member of the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance"—launching attacks in support of the Palestinian militant group and demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Skirmishes have since increased in scale, while Israel has also conducted multiple assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials within Lebanon, both in the southern region controlled by the group and in the capital of Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week said the IDF is "prepared for an extremely powerful action in the north" into Lebanon while on a visit to the frontier area.

"There will be damage" in the event of a war, Eyal Hulata, who served as the national security adviser to Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, told Newsweek. [...]

While the U.S. and others are seeking calm, Hulata said he is skeptical of any diplomatic solution. "I think really, it's more a matter of when than a matter of if," he said.

With some 200,000 Israelis evacuated from their homes in the north due to the Hezbollah attacks, Hulata said the domestic political pressure to resolve the situation is intense.

"If Hezbollah is not going to remove their forces from the border—and I don't see any political agreement brokered by the Americans or the French or anyone else that would be robust enough over time to keep Hezbollah away from our borders—unfortunately, I think that it's just a matter of time until we will need to do it ourselves," he said.

Full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah would be "a catastrophe" [...]. But to David Kamari, who lives under near-daily fire on the Israeli side of the border, it would be a solution.

"And sitting here like lambs to slaughter, waiting for the day they will raid us like we saw in the south, that’s not acceptable. Everyone understands that the choice is between war now or war later."

Hussein Aballan recently left his village of Mays al Jbal, around 6 miles (10km) from Kiryat Shmona, on the Lebanese side of the border.

But he backed the Hezbollah assault on Israel.

"Everyone in the south [of Lebanon] has lived through years of aggression, but has come out stronger," he said. "Only through resistance are we strong."

Tom Perry lives in Kibbutz Malkiya, right up against the Lebanese border fence. He was out drinking with friends when a Hezbollah rocket slammed through the front of his house earlier this month.

I think [...] [war] will be a catastrophe to the area," [...] "But unfortunately it looks like we have no other option. No agreement lasts forever, because they want death for us. [...]

Israel’s leaders lost all credibility after the 7 October attacks [...] "They need to quit – all of them" [...]

Many believe Israel’s prime minister is playing for time: caught between growing demands for a ceasefire in Gaza, and growing support for a war in the north.

Hezbollah fighters will be replaced by Lebanese army forces in that area, who will ensure that infrastructure or weaponry is removed and that it cannot be rebuilt [...]

Over the same 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces [...], Biden said, adding that it would enable civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.

The Lebanese army is expected to deploy 5,000 troops to the south under the agreement [...]

The Lebanese army has also said it does not have the resources - money, manpower and equipment - to fulfil its obligations under the deal, although that could be alleviated by contributions from some of Lebanon’s international allies.

Under resolution 1701, areas south of the Litani should be free of any armed personnel or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state and the [UNIFIL].

This time, the US and France will join the existing tripartite mechanism, which involves Unifil, Lebanon and Israel, which will be charged with monitoring violations [...]

"There will be no US combat troops in the area, but there will be military support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, as we've done in the past. But in this case, it'll be typically done with the Lebanese army and in conjunction with the French military as well," [...]

“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we [IDF] will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack,” [...]