Red handed over the Blue Line

Israel maintained marked ambiguity Wednesday regarding the operation in which four Golani Brigade soldiers were injured along the Lebanon border. Not one word was said about the operational objective -- not even if it was meant to take place in Israel or on Lebanese soil.

The logic of this ambiguity is clear: as long as no official statement is made we can pretend it never happened, or at least that it did not happen in a way that requires an official statement. The reasonable translation is that the operation took place in an area where Israel does not want to "get caught," meaning beyond the Blue Line, which is the internationally recognized border, even if topographically it is not entirely overlapping with the border fence.

This topography has created enclaves that Hezbollah has used in the past to launch terror attacks -- the most prominent one being the July 2006 abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, which took place not far from the location of Wednesday's incident. Since the Second Lebanon War, the IDF has made sure to extend its operations to those enclaves, and such missions are warranted as they serve operational and intelligence needs.

The danger, however, lies with the risk of exposure: getting caught "red handed across the Blue Line" may destabilize the area and bring about an undesired escalation. Just like in the case of the air strikes in Syria, which have been attributed to Israel: as long as Israel operates under the radar in Lebanon, the enemy can contain the strike -- and the humiliation that sometimes follows -- but once it is made public, the risk of seeing a reaction that would lead to further escalation increases significantly.

Hezbollah, which knows what really transpired during Wednesday's incident because it was its operatives who most likely placed the roadside bomb near the village of Labbouneh, just a few hundred yards north of the border, can live with the results as long as they remain ambiguous.

Still, this incident gives Hezbollah a chance to garner some positive public relations after months of having its image eroded over its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Wednesday's incident allows it to once again assume the image of Lebanon's protector against Israel's aggressions.

It is highly likely that Hezbollah will seize the opportunity to make the most of this incident, even if the Israeli premise is that it can be contained, which would not have been possible had the incident resulted in more than four minor casualties. The IDF, which has probably already launched an inquiry into the operation, will have to consider that as well, before the next mission is approved.

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