Israel invades Lebanon to uproot Hezbollah; Russia boosts defense spending

(Originally published Oct. 1 in “What in the World“) Israel launched its ground offensive into southern Lebanon.

The invasion, conducted after widespread airstrikes, is aimed at neutralizing the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and eliminating its ability to attack northern Israel by uprooting its military installations and network of underground bunkers and tunnels. If Israel’s efforts to eradicate Hamas in Gaza since last October are any indication, they might be there a while.

Lebanon’s own troops pulled back as Israeli troops amassed ahead of the assault, and the White House gave Israel the green light even as it publicly called for a ceasefire and restraint. The hope is that attacking Hezbollah will force it to the negotiating table—the way invading Gaza has led to fruitful peace talks between Israel, Hamas and Iran’s other proxies and didn’t prompt Hezbollah to start firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas, vowing to keep up its barrage until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

Russia, meanwhile, plans to increase defense spending next year by 30%, to a record $145 billion. U.S. defense spending last year rose less than 9%, to, um, $877 billion. That’s more than Russia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the U.K., and Ukraine spend—combined.