Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in limited but deadly conflict for five months, with the violence in danger of escalating into a fuller, more devastating war. Western officials are attempting now to mediate some de-escalation on the Lebanon-Israel front. There is only so much they can do, though, without a cease-fire in Gaza.
The European Union is making efforts to step up in security, proposing a joint defense spending program and setting targets for increased joint weapons purchasing and procurement. But can the EU actually become a security provider, rather than a security consumer dependent on the U.S.? There are good reasons to remain skeptical.
Since the start of the brutal campaign in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel’s military operations will eradicate the militant group Hamas. The Biden administration has backed that assertion, in both rhetoric and policy. Five months into that campaign, it is less believable today than it has ever been.
