Lebanon: catastrophic escalation between Israel and Hezbollah

Since the spectacular attacks with explosive pagers in mid-September, Israel has intensified its strikes against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. This operation, aimed at eliminating the fighters and heads of the Shiite jihadist organisation, which is an ally to Hamas and Iran, has also cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and plunged the south of the country into chaos. The regular exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanese border for almost a year had already led to the displacement of 100,000 Lebanese and 60,000 Israelis, but this number doubled on the Lebanese side in the space of a few days. At the UN General Assembly, European countries, the United States and several Arab countries called for a ceasefire. Benyamin Netanyahu did not deign to respond to this request, and instead urged his army to ‘continue the fighting with all necessary force’, raising fears of a ground intervention. The escalation of this war foreshadows the worst for Lebanon, already weakened by a deep political and economic crisis.

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