There are words we must not return to using. “Containment” is one of them. After October 7, we promised ourselves we would not go back there — that we would not explain away the threat, normalize the trickle of rocket fire or call shooting a “localized incident,” an infiltration a “provocation,” enemy entrenchment a “challenge” or the erosion of sovereignty a “complex security situation.” We promised we would learn.
And now, in the north, before our very eyes, we are once again standing on the edge of that same old abyss.
In recent days, IDF soldiers have again been killed and wounded in southern Lebanon. Explosive drones, bombs, fire at troops, drone and rocket launches, attempts to reestablish positions. Sometimes it is a “single incident,” sometimes a “measured response,” sometimes “the IDF struck targets” — but we must not be mistaken: Hezbollah is testing Israel. It is checking where the line is, and if the line moves another meter each time, eventually it does not exist.
We've seen this movie before. In 2023, Hezbollah set up tents on Mount Dov, inside Israeli territory. Tents with armed men on our land. And what did we do? We counted days, consulted, sent messages, waited for UNIFIL, the U.N., mediators, the world. We were afraid to dismantle a Hezbollah tent so as not to be dragged into escalation — and then came the greatest escalation of all. It happened not because we were too strong, but because we were too hesitant.
This is exactly the October 6 concept. To think that if we show restraint today, we will get quiet tomorrow. To believe the enemy interprets restraint the way we interpret restraint. It does not: We see responsibility, but he sees weakness. We call it preventing escalation, and he calls it opportunity.
The residents of the north do not deserve more containment. They do not deserve to return to their homes under question marks. And the children of Kiryat Shmona, Metula, Shlomi, Margaliot and the entire border area do not deserve to grow up alongside an enemy that is allowed to approach, build, launch, withdraw and try again.
The test is not how elegantly we explain our restraint, but how clearly the enemy understands the price
Security is not achieved with a press statement after a strike. Security is a reality in which the enemy knows in advance that it is not worth trying.
Yes, a responsible state does not rush into war. But a responsible state also does not flee from decision. The test is not how elegantly we explain our restraint, but how clearly the enemy understands the price.
A simple equation must be set in the north: Every Hezbollah entrenchment south of the Litani will be destroyed immediately, and every act of fire will be met with disproportionate force. Every attempt to harm our soldiers or our civilians will lead to a severe blow to the terrorist organization and to the Lebanese state that hosts it. The price of action today is painful, but the price of containment tomorrow will be far heavier.
After October 7, we have no right to say we did not know. We knew, we saw, we warned. Now we must choose — security in the north or a return to the old concept. We cannot have both.
First published: 12:10, 04.27.26