Tense calm in far north as Israel prepares to finish the job' against Hezbollah

"Noam Erlich looks out over what was his beer garden. Beyond the disordered chairs and tables and the sign instructing neighbours and friends to pay whatever you like, the ridge falls away to fields, then a fence, then hills littered with the skeletal ruins of shattered Lebanese villages. The 44-year-old brewer is standing in front of the house his grandfather built when the Manara kibbutz was founded in the 1940s in the very far north of Israel."

"The building was hit repeatedly by missiles fired by Hezbollah during the conflict, which ended a year ago, and will now almost certainly be demolished, along with most of the neighbouring houses. Wars destroy things, but bring opportunities too, Erlich said. There is a bipartisan consensus in Israel this weekend that a fresh military offensive to finish the job of destroying Hezbollah's military capabilities is imminent."

"On the border, there is a tense calm. Israel's air defence systems protected local communities from most of the rocket barrages launched by Hezbollah in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, but 47 civilians in Israel and 83 Israeli soldiers died, with hundreds more wounded, and tens of thousands displaced. Israel's major offensive in autumn last year delivered a series of devastating blows to Hezbollah but also killed an estimated 3,800 people in Lebanon, including many civilians, and forced 1.2 million from their homes. Damage was estimated at $8.5bn (6.5bn)."

Noam Erlich stands at a ruined beer garden on Manara kibbutz in northern Israel, overlooking fields and skeletal ruins of Lebanese villages. His grandfather's house was repeatedly hit by missiles fired by Hezbollah and now faces likely demolition along with neighbouring homes. Political consensus in Israel leans toward a fresh military offensive aimed at degrading Hezbollah's military capabilities. Border communities experienced rocket barrages despite air defences, with 47 Israeli civilians and 83 soldiers killed, hundreds wounded, and tens of thousands displaced. A major offensive last autumn caused extensive Lebanese civilian casualties, displaced 1.2 million people, and inflicted about $8.5bn in damage.

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