“Pre-emptive” and “self-defense” are objectively true here. Hezbollah initiated its current conflict with Israel and continues to launch attacks; Israel is fighting defensively and destruction of Hezbollah assets prevents future attacks on Israel.
(You might believe that Hezbollah is justified in attacking Israel, but it’s still the attacker and Israel is still the defender.)
According to the IDF and American intelligence who came to the conclusion within an hour arter the attack, have shown no proof to support the claim and both have a history of false conclusions and outright fabrications when it suits their pro-Israel narrative.
Uh no, according to Hezbollah themselves. Unless of course you believe the Hezbollah leadership are all Mossad plants
Nope. There’s no defensive way to bomb civilian targets. That’s not how the word or indeed the world works.
There were 3 deaths on the Lebanese side: 2 Hezbollah fighters and 1 from an associated
Uh no, according to Hezbollah themselves
Gonna need a source on that.
There were 3 deaths on the Lebanese side: 2 Hezbollah fighters and 1 from an associated
Sounds EXTREMELY unlike how the IDF tends to operate. Gonna need a reliable source on that one too.
You cannot “pre-emptively” defend yourself, an attack to head off a suspected attack is still an attack.
Other than that semantic nitpick, personally I’m there with you… However, you cannot seriously be pointing this out without also recognizing that Israel is very much the initial offender in any conflict that arises as direct result of their actions in gaza.
If I let a bully sucker punch me so I have an excuse to beat up all the people around them, and then someone else close by hits me, I can’t honestly say I am the one who is defending myself.
I think the purpose of the word “pre-emptive” is to describe a situation where one side appears to attack first but that side is actually acting to prevent an attack against itself. Consider a less controversial situation: Ukraine launched drones into Russia in order to blow up glide bombs in storage at Russian airbases. I suppose that could be described as a “pre-emptive attack” but I still see it as an act of self-defense.
With regard to your second point: Hezbollah has agency. They weren’t just helplessly carried along by events in Gaza; they chose to get involved. Their choice was predictable, but it was still theirs. One could argue that it was justified (and Hezbollah would certainly argue that it was justified) but justification is a matter of opinion and even if an attack is considered justified, the defender is still, well, defending.