Hassan Nasrallah and many other heads of the Hezbollah have been killed by the IDF in a sophisticated operatipn that consisted of infiltrating the upper ranks of the organization and activating pagers bought and used by the Hezbollah. It looks like a great victory on the part of Israel. It is especially a vindication for the present government led by Netanyahu, even though it is even more unlikely than ever that any hostage will be freed by Hamas. I note in passing that Hamas and the Hezbollah have been enemies in Syria. The military action by the IDF means that Iran is on the back foot and needs to be prudent in any thought of retaliation. It needs to be much more careful than it has been recently if it wants to avoid the wrath of the US, especially in an electoral period when everything is so unsure. It also looks like Israel is closer to bringing the US into a conflict with Iran, in spite of US protestations. Another major consequence of the military action by Israel is that the politics of Lebanon and probably Syria are going to change rapidly since the Hezbollah, though not destroyed, will find its influence much diminished and the patch up minorities that constitute modern Lebanon will have to renegotiate their relationships on a new basis. Will it be a pyrrhic victory on the part of Israel? What is certain at the moment is that Israel holds the keys to the conflict and it is hard to predict what form it will take in the near future.