Israel says it must protect communities in its north. The international court of justice ruled that self-defence did not justify occupying Gaza. Israel sees an opportunity to finally eliminate Hezbollah – isolated without Syrian support or help from Iran, and still recovering from the decapitation of its senior leadership by the Mossad in September 2024. Yet Hamas has endured through the devastation in Gaza. Hezbollah itself was born of the 1982-2000 Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.