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  • 3/29/2025
A two-front war in Gaza and Lebanon would be unpopular among Israelis, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joel Rubin says.

Transcript
00:00Israel has deployed units around Gaza, where a separate ceasefire has also
00:06broken down. Does Israel have the capacity for wider military intervention
00:12in Lebanon? Well, in Lebanon, to your point, Israel's not built for long wars. I
00:20should say it like this. Israel's military is a popular military. All adult
00:26men and women serve, or those who are within the regulations do serve, but
00:33that's not a military built for long wars that continue without endpoints.
00:38And so to get a second front in Lebanon, while also a major front in Gaza, that
00:43would not be received very well amongst the Israeli population. But that said,
00:47Israel does want to defend its borders, and the Israeli people do not want to
00:53take incoming from Hezbollah. So I think the calibration of how much force to
00:58employ is an important discussion, but I don't think you'll see much opposition
01:03in Israel to responding to Hezbollah provocations.

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