Silenced for the time being.

In June, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned...that Israel was prepared with an 'extremely powerful' response to attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which have escalated significantly in recent days." "Hours later, at least 11 Israelis were wounded, one critically, in a Hezbollah claimed attack with explosives-laden drones on the Druze-majority town of Hurfeish." The Times of Israel. If Hezbollah thought that it has a right to keep attacking Israel, it was taught a lesson as, "Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously on Tuesday (17 Sept) in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding several thousands, officials said." "Previously, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had warned the group's members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track and target them." AP. More was to follow. The next day, "exploding walkie-talkies killed 20 and injured at least 450 people," as "The explosions occurred in the vicinity of a large crowd that had gathered for the funerals of four victims of Tuesday's simultaneous pager blasts." BBC. Nasrallah banned cellphones because Israel was assassinating Hezbollah operatives by locking on to their phone signals. But, "Even before Mr Nasrallah decided to expand pager usage," Israel set up B.A.C. Consulting company in Hungary to produce pagers "powered by just a few ounces of explosive compound," and shipped them to Lebanon. NYT. "Lebanon is in the grip of panic." "Residents have begun taking drastic measures to protect themselves," and "In some cases, people have unplugged home appliances, even turning off Wi-Fi routers." "At one point, security forces detonated a bag of rice at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, suspecting it might have been rigged with explosives." ET. Israeli Army Chief Herzi Halevi said, "We plan ahead by stages. At every stage, the price paid by Hezbollah should be high. We will make it so that terrorists will be afraid of going to the toilet and even eating food." ET. Late yesterday, "Israeli fighter jets pounded Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon," and " It said that since the afternoon, fighter jets struck some 100 rocket launchers consisting of 1,000 barrels." ET. "It is hard to think of an attack more calculated to sow fear and confusion." "Each explosion may have been small, but some resulted in catastrophic injuries." BBC. For now, Hezbollah is depleted of operatives and its ability to communicate has been severely hampered. Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran which is already furious after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. India Today. "The US has kept an increased military presence in the Middle East throughout much of the past year, with about 40,000 forces, at least a dozen warships and four Air Force fighter jet squadrons spread across the region." ET. Hezbollah will take time to rebuild its forces and a secure means of communication. Iran will have to calculate how to attack Israel without drawing the US into the conflict. The US does not want to be involved. Israel has a window of opportunity. If only it can destroy Hezbollah's arsenal. That will be a real victory.