BILD, a leading German paper, reports that Israel may be set to launch a general war against Hezbollah already in mid-July, two weeks from now.
According to the report, based on source in the Middle East and talks among European leaders, Israel is set to launch a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in the coming weeks, with a number of western states having already been given warning of this intention.
According to the paper's sources, the operation will be launched after the intensive phase of the fighting in Gaza, but before Israel openly declares war. The war will be intensive and be launched quickly and without warning, but will be confined to southern Lebanon.
The Bild claims that Israel's confining the war to southern Lebanon will be in order to operate based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which requires that only the official Lebanese Army operate south of the Litani, thus providing it with additional legitimacy when in operation.
