Israel and Hezbollah
Israel’s recent incursion into Lebanon may have occurred following months of exchanging gunfire with its historical Lebanese adversary Hezbollah, but the dispute between the two nations dates back decades – predating the establishment of Hezbollah.
The focus of the conflict between the two nations revolves around the matter of Palestine. Israel’s conflict with Lebanon started when Lebanon accepted over 100,000 Palestinian refugees following Israel’s establishment in 1948. The tension has increased in the years that followed, with refugees, their offspring, and Lebanese factions they influenced advocating for different kinds of autonomy.
On October 1, Israel initiated the ongoing invasion into southern Lebanon with the goal of pushing Hezbollah, a Shia militant and political organization aligned with Iran, away from its positions in the region. Israel aimed to repatriate tens of thousands of its residents to their homes in the northern part of the country, one year after being evacuated because of rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
During the conflict, Hezbollah has continuously stated they will continue attacking Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, despite the group’s leaders supporting talks for a ceasefire that are not dependent on a truce in Gaza. Over the course of the last year, over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza have lost their lives due to the continuous operations carried out by the Israeli military.
The expenses of the invasion are rapidly increasing. Israel has evicted the residents of many villages in the south of Lebanon — over 1 million individuals out of a total population of 6 million — and has continuously attacked the capital, Beirut, and its southern neighborhoods. Over 2,000 Lebanese individuals lost their lives in the last year, with the majority of deaths occurring within the last month. In the last year, Hezbollah attacks and recent ground operations have resulted in the deaths of 28 Israeli civilians and 43 Israeli soldiers.
Even though Israel originally said they would only have a small military action in Lebanon, American officials have cautioned Israel about the possibility of expanding their mission as the conflict continues. Additionally, Israel’s choice to launch an invasion has reignited concerns about a broader conflict, particularly in light of the heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. However, in order to comprehend the current situation in Lebanon, we must look back several decades. Here is a chronological outline of the tense Israel-Lebanon relationship that can shed light on the current state of affairs.
In the new millennium, there was a change in Israeli-Lebanese relations. Since the PLO departed Beirut in 1982, giving up armed resistance in the Oslo Accords, and transitioning to an administrative position in the Palestinian conflict, Israel has turned its attention to Hezbollah. The conflict has become smaller in scale, with the majority of operations happening on each side of the border between Israel and Lebanon.
In July 2006, the initial major assault of this new stage occurred when a Hezbollah group entered Israeli land, seizing two Israeli troops, causing the death of eight, and launching a series of rockets into northern Israel. That triggered a month of severe, fierce fighting, which involved airstrikes on Lebanese land. The dispute concluded with a ceasefire supported by the United Nations on August 14, 2006.
Ever since, Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged rocket attacks along the southern border of Lebanon. In the last few months, there has been an increase in attacks; after Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah has fired numerous rockets into Israeli land.
According to Natan Sachs, director of the Middle East program at the Brookings Institution, Israel has had long-standing intentions to eliminate Hezbollah. However, it only started to implement those plans in the last few weeks. Currently, the killings of military commander Fuad Shukr and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah have resulted in the loss of important members of Hezbollah’s leadership. According to Sachs, Israel has been getting ready for this for 18 years.
Israel has successfully weakened Hezbollah by eliminating key leaders and disrupting arms shipments, however, it is improbable that the group will be completely eradicated or disabled, a fact that Israel has indirectly accepted. Furthermore, the current invasion, along with the harm and casualties Israel has caused to Palestinians, has only led to increased anger in Lebanon — and globally — regarding Israel’s behavior.
Throughout the years, Israel has attempted, through military or political means, to influence Lebanon in alignment with its own agenda. Its repeated attempts have been unsuccessful, and sometimes even resulted in creating new enemies, like what happened with Hezbollah. Today, Israel’s attempt to impact Lebanese internal politics appears unchanged: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned to dismantle the country if Hezbollah is not expelled.
Up to now, this invasion, similar to past military actions, could potentially increase hostility towards Israel and further disrupt Lebanon.
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