JERUSALEM — When a pair of drone-fired missiles slammed into an apartment building in south Beirut on Tuesday, killing a top militant leader and his lieutenants, it appeared to mark a shift in Israel’s war against Hamas.
Now, as the conflict enters its fourth month, Israel has apparently made good on that threat, risking a wider war along its border with Lebanon even as it begins to draw down troops in Gaza for the first time.
Military leaders said that the partial withdrawal was possible now that attacks have weakened Hamas in the north and that it would allow thousands of reservists to return home and go back to work. Washington also has been placing pressure for months on Israel to pull back from what President Biden has described as “indiscriminate bombing” and reduce the devastating civilian death toll.
The events come amid growing concerns about the war’s economic toll in Israel and the gradual return of protests and domestic political intrigue. While few analysts see an end to the violence in Gaza, they detect an evolution.
