"The Lebanese government needs to understand that there is a price for its inaction. They need to understand that if they are not able to deal with terror, we will have no choice but to fight with them," IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday.

But while Israel's actions could be defended as a deterrent against an act of aggression, they also amount to the collective punishment of the Lebanese society and government, which have little say over Hezbollah's activities.

The situation puts the Lebanese government and military in an extremely tough position. The government simply cannot control Hezbollah. It cannot take it on politically because of its support among Lebanon's Shiite Muslim population, in a country where almost everyone still votes for their religion's candidate regardless of merit. Nor can the well-trained but tiny and underequipped Lebanese army take on the Shiite militia.