The IDF has taken pains over the past few days to sound a cautionary tone. Despite a string of successes in thwarting Hezbollah's efforts to stage a cross-border attack, the score has yet to be settled as far as the terrorist organization is concerned.
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The incident on Monday was a major blow for Hezbollah: It failed miserably in carrying out a sniper attack just like it failed to attack a Har Dov outpost last month. These attempts were designed to avenge the killing of a Hezbollah operative in an alleged Israeli strike on Damascus some five weeks ago.
The IDF has been fully aware of the sniper threat and has therefore acted accordingly, making sure soldiers are exposed as little as possible.
On Monday, Hezbollah thought it had an opportunity when a soldier had to expose parts of his body to fix some device on a border outpost. Hezbollah fired two shots, but both missed. For an organization that had been waiting for weeks for this golden opportunity, this is a resounding failure.
The IDF retaliatory strikes were designed to send two messages. The first, that Israel doesn't want another escalation, and that's why it chose to target low-value installations. The second, that Israel has no qualms about attacking Lebanese territory in response to an attack on its sovereignty.
These messages are designed to warn Hezbollah, which is now looking for a third opening to attack Israel.
The IDF will have to maintain its heightened alert on the northern border despite the upcoming High Holy Days and the influx of travelers vacationing in the north. This is not a simple task.
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