Over the past month, it almost felt as though Israel had turned a page. Headlines once dominated by fallen soldiers gave way to election campaigns, peace negotiations with Lebanon, and discussions of pilot zones designed to secure the northern border.
Wednesday was a painful reminder that the page has not yet been turned. Two IDF reservists were killed in a deadly explosion in southern Lebanon – the first Israeli combat deaths on the northern front in more than a month.
During IDF operations in Majdal Zoun, forces from Battalion 2855 entered a booby-trapped building where an explosive device detonated upon their entry, causing part of the structure to collapse and trap soldiers beneath the rubble.
Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, and Master Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, were killed in the incident, the military said on Thursday. Four others were seriously wounded.
The IDF immediately launched an investigation into the incident, while Defense Minister Israel Katz was said to have questioned the commanders’ decision to enter the explosives-laden building rather than destroy it from the outside, in line with his policy of avoiding unnecessary entry into suspected terrorist infrastructure.
The tragedy also highlighted the difficult balancing act Israel now faces.
The IDF’s response to what it called a blatant violation of the ceasefire terms was more controlled and restrained than some expected it to be. Reports from Israel and Lebanon suggested that the military initially sought a broader response to the incident but ultimately opted for a more restrained one, amid ongoing American efforts to keep negotiations with Lebanon on track.
Whether or not every detail of those reports proves accurate, the broader reality that must be reckoned with is that every escalation on the ground now carries immediate diplomatic consequences.
Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome focusing on LAF pilot zones
So what happens next, both in Rome and in the Middle East?
The talks in Rome have focused on expanding pilot zones under Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) control, establishing verification mechanisms and creating conditions that could eventually lead to a more stable northern border.
Those mechanisms are intended in part to reduce the need for Israeli troops to repeatedly enter areas in Lebanon from which Hezbollah could launch an attack – a goal that Wednesday’s tragedy underscored remains far from guaranteed. But every Hezbollah attack raises the same question: Can any agreement succeed while the terrorist organization remains armed and capable of carrying out deadly attacks?
The more violence escalates along the border, the more difficult it becomes not only to reach an agreement with Beirut but also to implement one.
Every Israeli casualty deepens public skepticism that Lebanon can fulfill its commitments, while every military escalation increases the risk of undermining the diplomatic process itself.
Concurrently, the Majdal Zoun incident should serve as a reminder to everyone sitting around the negotiating table in Rome – especially American and Lebanese officials – that lasting peace cannot be achieved as long as Hezbollah remains armed and able to pose a threat to IDF soldiers and northern Israeli citizens.
Israel is naturally skeptical of promises made by Beirut. Similar commitments to strengthen the authority of the LAF and curb Hezbollah’s military presence have been made before, with little to show for them.
Diplomacy must be given every opportunity to succeed
Yet Israel must also recognize that diplomacy deserves every reasonable opportunity to succeed. Hezbollah will keep attempting to emulate Hamas’s guerrilla tactics in Gaza, and every village can conceal a booby-trapped home, another tunnel, and another carefully prepared ambush. We owe it to the soldiers still operating in southern Lebanon to exhaust every diplomatic option available to avoid the next deadly incident.
In her eulogy at Harel Birenstock’s funeral on Thursday, his mother Yonat recalled a heartbreaking conversation with her son.
“You loved what you did and always said, ‘Mom, in the end everyone dies. So if I’m going to die, at least let it be like this.’ The truth is, you were right,” she said.
As admirable as his sense of duty was, no parent should have to hear their child accept the possibility of dying in combat as inevitable. If the talks in Rome are to mean anything, they must work toward no Israeli parent ever having to hear those words again.