Israel Aims to Force Back Hezbollah Without a Ground War

Israel has attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon every day for the past week — from commander assassinations to the destruction of missile launchers — in what officials say is an attempt to force the group to pull back from the border and stop its own rocket barrage.

Yet unlike the campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s goal is less about eliminating its enemy than forcing it into a retreat. That would prevent the need for a boots-on-the ground war and enable about 65,000 Israelis displaced from its northern border area to return home.