Smotrich's Novel Approach to Hezbollah
Finance Minister Smotrich pushes a dramatic new equation at the security cabinet: answer Iranian missiles with mass strikes on Beirut's Dahieh - and preserve Israel's firepower for Iran's economy.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is expected to push at Monday's security cabinet meeting for a dramatic shift in Israel's response strategy, arguing that Iran's missile attacks should be answered not inside Iran itself but with a massive bombing campaign against Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's Dahieh district, Israeli media reported.
Under the equation Smotrich is reportedly proposing, each Iranian missile fired at Israel would trigger the destruction of dozens of buildings in Dahieh. By that formula, Sunday night's barrage alone would have brought down between 200 and 300 structures in the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs.
The finance minister's reasoning, according to the report, is strategic as much as logistical. Striking in Lebanon, he argues, is far easier, more accessible, and more effective than attempting to hit targets deep inside Iran — and simultaneously advances Israel's long-term security goals in the north. Smotrich sees the current moment as an opportunity to accelerate Operation Silver Plow, the ongoing IDF campaign to demolish Hezbollah frontline villages in southern Lebanon, ratcheting up pressure on Hezbollah to rein in Iranian aggression.
The calculus extends to Washington as well. Smotrich reportedly believes bold, reality-altering actions in Lebanon could earn Israel additional credit with President Trump, potentially pushing Iran toward greater flexibility in its nuclear negotiations with the United States after weeks of Iranian intransigence and perceived American concessions.
Looking further ahead, Smotrich is said to argue that Israel should conserve its precision munitions and military resources for a future comprehensive campaign against Iran's energy infrastructure — a campaign he believes could cripple the Iranian economy. Expending those capabilities on limited tit-for-tat exchanges, he contends, is a strategic mistake.
Whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will adopt the approach remains an open question. "An interesting thesis," the Israeli media report concluded. "Even more interesting will be whether Netanyahu adopts it — or whether he has another card up his sleeve."