Deepshikha Maan, Jadetimes Staff
D. Maan is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Israel Gaza War
Lebanon Faces Uncertainty and Fear as Israeli Ground Invasion Begins
For the past few days, there was a growing sense in Lebanon that an Israeli ground invasion into the country’s south was almost inevitable. Israel had made it clear that its offensive against Hezbollah would not end with the death of Hassan Nasrallah, who has led the group for three decades.
Now, with the confirmation of what the Israeli military has described as a “limited, localized, and targeted” operation, there is widespread fear that this could mark the beginning of a much larger conflict. History has shown that while Israeli forces may enter Lebanon with relative ease, their withdrawal is often fraught with challenges.
“The country is lost,” one Lebanese friend messaged me. Another wrote, “If you ask me what’s coming, my answer is that long and difficult days lie ahead.” A third person said, “We just have to hope for the best.” Many in Lebanon feel as if history is repeating itself, leaving the future uncertain.
It is unclear if Hezbollah will be able to mount a significant, coordinated response, though it continues to launch rockets into Israel, albeit at a reduced intensity. Meanwhile, Lebanon is struggling with the toll of Israeli airstrikes, which have resulted in numerous casualties and displaced over a million people.
Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim group armed and funded by Iran, is considered a terrorist organization by countries like the US and UK, but in Lebanon, it is much more than a militia. It functions as a political party with parliamentary representation and has deep roots in Lebanese society, enjoying significant support.
Though weakened by weeks of relentless Israeli airstrikes and targeted assassinations, Hezbollah has not been defeated. In a defiant speech, Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, stated that its fighters were ready to resist any Israeli incursion. Prior to this escalation, Hezbollah’s military wing, with its vast arsenal and thousands of battle hardened fighters, was considered stronger than the Lebanese army. The Lebanese government, for the most part, has little control over the group’s actions.
For nearly a year, Hezbollah has been conducting frequent cross-border attacks on Israel, stirring fears among many Lebanese especially outside of Hezbollah’s support base—that the country, already reeling from years of crises, was being dragged into a war it had not chosen. Lebanon’s economy has essentially collapsed, and the nation has been without a president for nearly two years due to political deadlock.
Memories of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah still linger, when large parts of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah's stronghold in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut, were heavily bombed. Many of Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon are not unhappy to see the group weakened, viewing it as more concerned with serving its own interests and those of its primary backer, Iran.
Hezbollah is the most powerful faction within the so called Axis of Resistance, a coalition of groups across the Middle East supported by Iran, which also includes the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq and Syria. For Iran, having a strong Hezbollah presence in Lebanon, right next to Israel, is crucial for its strategy of deterrence against any potential Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.
A resident in Beirut, outside a building struck by an Israeli missile, expressed his frustration, saying, “I’m against Israel, which is killing us, but I’m also against Iran, which is killing us as well.” Hezbollah supporters, however, have a different perspective. One refugee from Dahieh said, “We shed tears of blood for the [Israeli] strike on Nasrallah. May God grant him paradise… He’s irreplaceable. We don’t fear [Israel]. We’re still standing.”
