Podcasts

After months of fighting along Israel’s northern border, tensions with Hezbollah remain high and the ceasefire, if it can be called that, is anything but stable. Civilians on both sides are displaced, skirmishes continue, and the threat of renewed escalation looms. In this episode of The National Security Podcast, host Nicole Zedeck speaks with Orna Mizrahi, Senior Research Fellow at INSS, to break down the current reality on the ground. What is Hezbollah’s strategy? Where does the Lebanese army stand? And is Israel prepared for what comes next?

Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, executive director of INSS, leads a special discussion with INSS experts Sima Shine, Dr. Carmit Valensi, and Orna Mizrahi on the Shiite axis. The four discuss the implications of the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, which may signal a turning point in the war and a possible strategic shift in Israel’s security balance. They focus on the ramifications of this event for Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon, the identity of Nasrallah’s successor, and the broader regional impact, particularly on the two major strategic players—Iran and the United States.

Israel is in a new phase of war, with its main attention focused on the northern border with Lebanon. After nearly a year of daily cross border attacks with Hezbollah, Israel is starting to change the security situation in the newly named ‘Operation Northern Arrows’. In the course of one week, the IDF greatly damaged Hezbollah’s capabilities with a series of unprecedented airstrikes targeting key assets including long-range precision missiles, medium range rockets, and cruise missiles. The Iranian proxy has lost key leaders and commanders, as well as thousands of Hezbollah operatives who are still injured from the precise intelligence attack on the terror group’s pagers and walkie talkies. However, Israel is paying a cost as well, with an intensified bombardment on major northern cities including Haifa, and a ballistic missile fired from Lebanon toward Tel Aviv for the first time. What direction should Israel take to combat the most serious threat to its borders? Is Israel underestimating Hezbollah’s capabilities? Does either party benefit from a 3rd Lebanon War? On this week’s episode of the National Security Podcast, former Deputy National Security Advisor and senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Orna Mizrahi, answers the most pressing questions regarding Hezbollah’s capabilities and the potential for a new war.

On Saturday, July 27th, Hezbollah fired a missile that killed 12 innocent Israeli children of the Druze community and injured more than 30 others while they were playing during the afternoon hours in a local soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams. While Israel mourns the massacre, the defense system is now working on a response. Is there a scenario for a severe Israeli response that will still keep Israel below the threshold of a total war? What are the current scenarios vis-a-vis Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon? What is the US position regarding the scale and dimensions of the planned Israeli response, and what should Israel do in the event of further escalation after Hezbollah responds back? In this program, researcher Adi Kantor sits down with INSS senior researchers Orna Mizrahi, former Deputy National Security Adviser for Foreign Policy, and Professor Chuck Freilich, who served for over 20 years in Israel’s national security establishment as a senior analyst and deputy national security adviser. Together, they discuss recent developments on the Israeli northern border and their implications on both internal and external fronts.

Since October 8, 2023, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in an intense war of attrition, which seems to have accelerated in recent weeks and is accompanied by increasing expressions of threats by both sides. These threatening declarations make clear that in a case of an “all-out war,” the Israeli home front will indeed find itself facing a new, unprecedented challenge. In this program, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Dr. Carmit Valensi, a senior researcher at INSS and the head of the Northern Arena Program. Together they discuss how close is Israel to an “all-out war” in the north. What scenarios should be taken under consideration, and what are the implications of such a war to the Israeli home front? Is there still a chance of reaching a diplomatic solution, one that will bring back the security to tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north and will finally enable them to return home? And what is the role of Syria in the ongoing escalation between Israel and Lebanon?

After seven days of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the return of 114 hostages to Israeli territory, most of them Israeli women and children, Hamas violated the agreement and renewed the fire and launch of rockets toward Israel. Israel is now continuing in the next phase of its war against Hamas, attacking not only the northern part of the Gaza Strip, but also cities and neighborhoods in southern areas. In this podcast INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Ofer Shelah, senior researcher at INSS and former member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Together they discuss the current situation in Gaza and consider: Where is Israel headed vis-à-vis its goals concerning the war? What are the scenarios and parameters for the “day after”? What are the US conditions for continuing the fighting, and do they suit the Israeli objectives? And what is known at this point regarding Israel’s biggest failure in its 75 years of independence in protecting its own citizens against the October 7 massacre?

40 days have passed since the October 7 massacre of Israeli citizens by Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilian accomplices. While Israel’s primary military efforts are concentrated in the Gaza Strip, it seems that the situation on the northern border has escalated sharply. Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks against Israeli civilians, including the use of heavier explosives, along with the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians from their homes near the border due to the security threat, clearly demand a response from Israel. What the response will be, as well as its scope, remains be seen. In this podcast, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Orna Mizrahi, senior researcher at INSS and former deputy national security advisor. Together they discuss the current escalation in the north and consider: What is the nature of the fighting on the Lebanese border since the beginning of the war in Gaza? What motivates Hezbollah to join the war? Can we expect a full-scale war? And what should happen along the Lebanese border on “the day after” the war in Gaza?

New INSS Podcast: A panel Discussion from the INSS 15th Annual International Conference on the Future of Lebanon Moderator: Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss, Senior Research Fellow, INSS | Participants: Ms. Orna Mizrahi, senior research fellow, INSS, former deputy head of the National Security Council (NSC) • Mr. Tony Badran, Research Fellow, FDD • Dr. Haggay Etkes, Senior Research Fellow, INSS

Orna Mizrahi, a senior research fellow at INSS, and Yoram Schweitzer, head of the INSS Program on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict, discuss the growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as the implications of the massive blast at the port of Beirut on Lebanon and on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. What are the reasons for the current tension along Israel’s northern border? What are the interests of the respective actors? How does the situation in Lebanon, especially the latest disaster in Beirut, affect Hezbollah’s calculations and behavior?

INSS Deputy Director Itai Brun hosts a special podcast following the update of the Institute’s strategic assessment for 2020, in the wake of both the coronavirus pandemic and the establishment of Israel’s new government after more than a year of political deadlock. INSS Managing Director Udi Dekel, together with INSS researchers Sima Shine, Assaf Orion, Orna Mizrahi, Meir Elran, Sarah Feuer, and Carmit Valensi provide a comprehensive review on the international system and the Middle East, which have been rocked by the virus, and will offer their recommendations to the new government.