The unchecked Israeli escalation of tension in Lebanon has accelerated in recent days, with the assassination of the Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrala daily bombings in populated areas and a ground invasion accompanied by aerial fire and artillery. Beirut, the coastal capital located in the center of the country of cedars, is becoming less and less safe, with continuous air attacks on highly populated neighborhoods in the south, from which thousands of residents have fled. The trail of civilian victims left by the Israeli bombings already exceeds a thousand deaths in the last two weeks.
In the last few hours Israel has attacked Gaza, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon dragging the region into a multi-front war. At least seven civilians have been killed in Gaza City, in an Israeli bombing of a school hosting displaced Palestinians. In the last year, the Israeli Army has bombed 160 educational centers set up as shelters. Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers entered southern Lebanon on Monday night, while their air forces intensively bombed southern Lebanon. Beiruta residential area considered a Hezbollah stronghold in the country’s capital. The Shiite militia responded by launching rockets at the headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency in Glilot, north of Tel Aviv.
In Yemen, Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah -area controlled by the Houthis- in response to militia attacks in recent days. The Israeli offensive caused four deaths and more than thirty injuries. In Damascus, the Syrian capital, three people – including a presenter for the Syrian state channel – were killed in an Israeli airstrike, the target of which is unknown. The escalation of war has also affected Iraq, where two rockets were fired at a military base housing US forces near Baghdad’s international airport. The projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, according to the Iraqi military. No group has claimed responsibility for the aggression, although pro-Iran paramilitary forces have repeatedly attacked US troops since the start of the Gaza war.
Why is Israel attacking Lebanon now?
The recent escalation began 15 days ago with the explosion of the pagers and walkie-talkies of dozens of Hezbollah militants, in a planned attack attributed to Israel, which, for the moment, Tel Aviv has not recognized. At least 39 people died and more than 2,000 were injured by the devices exploding in front of their faces or joints, leaving hundreds of people blind or disabled. The attack was described as a “declaration of war” by the Lebanese Shiite party. Taking advantage of the surprise coup, the Israeli Army has since intensified bombing in the south and east of the country – where there is a greater presence of Hezbollah militants – and has carried out airstrikes in large cities such as Beirut and around Sidon. . In the last week, the Israeli Army has managed to reach a dozen commanders of Hezbollah’s military wing, including the party’s leader Hasan Nasrallah. The Lebanese group has responded by launching daily bursts of missiles at Israel, mostly intercepted by air defense systems.
What situation was the region in before this escalation?
The border between Israel and Lebanon has been the scene of almost daily crossfire since the offensive in the Gaza Strip began on October 7. Hezbollah opened a low-intensity front in the border area with the objective of allowing Israel to stop its offensive in Palestinian territories. Its strategy is included in the actions of the call Resistance Axisthe alliance of anti-Israel parties and militias operating under the influence of Iran.
The clashes have left more than 600 dead, mostly Hezbollah militants, but also a hundred civilians on the Lebanese side, as well as nearly forty Israeli soldiers. Hostilities have forced hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to abandon their homes and move to other areas of the country.
What is Israel looking for with the current escalation?
A 2006 United Nations resolution calls for Hezbollah’s withdrawal and other armed groups about twenty kilometers from the border, a ruling that the Lebanese militants have not complied with, ensuring that Israel does not follow the ordinances either. The Israeli Army assures that it wants to create a buffer zone in the border area with the intention of establishing a safe territory so that the population of northern Israel can return to their homes. In the rhetorical escalation of recent weeks, Israeli authorities have vowed to inflict the same damage in Lebanon that their army has caused in Gaza if Hezbollah does not withdraw. For the moment, the Israeli bombings in Lebanon have had the opposite effect, provoking reprisals by Hezbollah against areas further south in Israel, even reaching the city of Eilaton the shores of the Red Sea.
Was there a confrontation before the war in Gaza?
Yes, in fact, experts fear that the Israeli ground invasion will end like the war in Lebanon in 2006. Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers sparked intense Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon and a subsequent ground invasion. The war lasted just over a month and more than 1,200 Lebanese diedmostly civilians and a hundred Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah fighters surprised Israeli soldiers with asymmetric tactics, causing the army to withdraw from the south of the country. Analysts warn about the cost that a new land invasion could entail for Israel, with a Hezbollah that has a larger arsenal of weapons than in 2006 and an extensive network of tunnels to be able to move easily through the territory. After the Israeli withdrawal, there was a period of “tense calm” in the border area, although Israel has not hesitated to attack the Lebanese group outside Lebanon, as in 2013, with bombings in areas controlled by Hezbollah in Syria, where the arm armed Shiite militia supported the Bashar al Assad regime.
Are Hamas and Hezbollah the same?
No. Israel has treated both as extensions of its main enemy in the region: Iran. Although it considers both Hamas and Hezbollah “terrorist organizations”, the Lebanese party has an established political formation and a parliamentary presence. Both parties have a military wing and are part of the aforementioned Axis of Resistance. However, while Hezbollah is more aligned with Iran’s regional objectives, Hamas receives logistical support from Tehran but supposedly operates more independently. The Palestinian group broke relations with the Axis of Resistance in 2011 due to its disagreement with the Syrian president’s offensive. Assad against their own population.
And now what?
Israel has begun a ground invasion of the south of the country, which it has described as “limited, localized and selective” against Hezbollah targets. The operation has raised questions about its ability to ensure long-term security on Israel’s northern border, given the precedent of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, also described as “limited” but which has continued to advance for a year. At the same time, Iran has hit Israel with a total of 181 missiles, which caused terror in cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the latter with a terrorist attack that caused seven deaths. The US has promised to help Israel in its response to Iran. Finally, the feared regional war arrived.