Israel is engaged in a complex, two-front strategy on its northern border, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the military continues to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli diplomats are simultaneously engaged in promising peace talks with the new government in Syria. Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that these two efforts are deeply interconnected, with military success against Hezbollah creating the conditions for diplomatic breakthroughs.
The most significant breakthrough is with Syria. After decades of frozen conflict, the fall of the Assad dynasty has thawed relations to the point of direct negotiations. The new Syrian government is keen to secure its borders and stabilize the country, with one official citing a goal of finalizing security agreements with Israel by the close of 2025.
In Lebanon, the approach is different. The goal is to weaken the non-state actor Hezbollah, which Israel views as an Iranian proxy. Despite a ceasefire, targeted strikes continue. This military action is paralleled by U.S.-led diplomatic pressure on Beirut to finally implement UN resolutions calling for the disarmament of all militias, a task Lebanon’s government now appears to be undertaking.
“The possibility of peace with our northern neighbours… was not even imagined before our recent operations and actions,” Netanyahu said, clearly articulating his theory of change. He confirmed progress in the Syrian channel, while cautiously noting that a final resolution is “still a long way off.”
This strategy is yielding tangible, if tentative, results. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa confirmed negotiations over an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories are underway, with Israel’s main demand being a demilitarized zone. A Syrian military official has stated that heavy weaponry has been pulled back from this zone. Lebanon, too, is moving forward with a plan to disarm Hezbollah forces along the Israeli border.