Israel is continuing its bombardment of Lebanon and preparing for a possible ground invasion of the country, with the Netanyahu government rejecting a proposed 21-day ceasefire put forward by the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. About 500,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced, and the Health Ministry reports at least 72 people were killed and nearly 400 wounded in Israeli attacks on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to over 620 in recent days. “There is a lot of suffering. There is a lot of hardship right now,” says Beirut-based journalist Lara Bitar, who details how Israel has repeatedly attacked and invaded Lebanese territory going back decades. “The source of this pain can be pinpointed to the presence of the Israeli settler state in our region that continues to wreak havoc in Palestine, in Lebanon and across most of the world.”

Israel is continuing its bombardment of Lebanon and preparing for a possible ground invasion of the country, with the Netanyahu government rejecting a proposed 21-day ceasefire put forward by the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

About 500,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced, and the Health Ministry reports at least 72 people were killed and nearly 400 wounded in Israeli attacks on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to over 620 in recent days.

“There is a lot of suffering. There is a lot of hardship right now,” says Beirut-based journalist Lara Bitar, who details how Israel has repeatedly attacked and invaded Lebanese territory going back decades.

“The source of this pain can be pinpointed to the presence of the Israeli settler state in our region that continues to wreak havoc in Palestine, in Lebanon and across most of the world.”

  • Keeponstalin@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    173·
    7 hours ago
    NERMEEN SHAIKH:

    Lara Bitar, so, if you could tell us a little bit more about how you think Hezbollah might respond to a possible invasion? And also explain Resolution — U.N. Resolution 1701, because the U.N. secretary-general, speaking Wednesday, he warned that Lebanon is at the brink, calling for an urgent ceasefire, but he also called for the implementation of U.N. Resolutions 1559 and 1701.

    LARA BITAR:

    I can’t really predict how Hezbollah will respond, but what we know is that, so far, Hezbollah has continuously tried to deescalate. Hezbollah is not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. They have consistently aimed their weapons at military infrastructure and sites and soldiers, even after the pager attack, the walkie-talkie attack, repeated campaigns on Dahieh. Just a few minutes ago, before I joined you, Dahieh was yet again bombarded by the Israelis. I think this is the eighth attack on the Lebanese capital. Despite all of this escalation from the Israeli side, Hezbollah remains restraint, continues to try to deescalate. And the only ask here, which is not a really unreasonable ask, is for Israel to immediately end its war on the Palestinian people of Gaza after 11 months.

    As far as U.N. resolutions, for the most part, they’re not legally binding. For the most part, they’re not respected. The 1701 Resolution, that was adopted after the 2006 war, is habitually, if not daily, violated by the Israelis in a variety of different ways. That’s why the majority of the Lebanese population is not holding its breath waiting for a U.N. resolution or for the Security Council or even for the international community. I think not just the people in Lebanon, but people around the world have completely lost faith in the so-called international order, the rule of law.

    So, right now we can only expect things to get significantly worse. So long as the international community does not take any action to halt the insanity and the barbarism of the Israeli state, so long as the Western world continues to supply the Israelis with weapons, with support, with diplomatic cover, we have very little chance of seeing an end to this campaign anytime soon.

    But on the other hand, what people can do, people anywhere can boycott Israel, can put pressure on their institutions, on their universities, on the corporations in which they work, and to divest from Israel. The only chance that we have is for the world and for comrades around the world to put this kind of pressure on their governments and on their institutions to isolate Israel, because Israel will only stop this campaign and this war around the region if it becomes too costly for it. And right now it’s not paying any kind of price for its actions.

    • Jaderick@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      5 hours ago

      The call to action of boycotting Israel at the end is the valuable part of this quote.

      I wouldn’t die on the hill of “Hezbollah is not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure” for the fact that they do not have the rocketry capabilities for targeted strikes. Isreal clearly doesn’t either.

      • Doorbook@lemmy.worldEnglish
        51·
        5 hours ago

        for the fact that they do not have the rocketry capabilities for targeted strikes.

        Have you seen any of the videos they have posted? I saw a few that were actually guided ! they problem I notice in media they never show attacks by hamas or hezbollah. While IDF doesn’t actually care what they hit and like to always claim to be right and accurate but we know from Gaza they are mostly lies which makes it hard to believe them anymore…

        • Jaderick@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          5 hours ago

          I haven’t seen those videos and I’d like to see them to be informed. Pls link.

          I just know that even the US struggles with targeted ballistics not hitting civilians and I think any focus on that argument weakens her response. Israel’s mandatory conscription makes those standalone sentences mean even less.

      • Keeponstalin@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        164·
        3 hours ago

        As opposed to Israel also violating the UN Resolution by continuing it’s illegal occupation of Lebanese and Syrian territory? Hezbollah disbanding it’s armed wing doesn’t make sense when Israel continues it’s settler Colonialism and targeting of civilians. There is no guarantee Israel would stop, in fact they’ve given every reason that they would continue their atrocities.

          • Keeponstalin@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
            61·
            3 hours ago

            My bad, I confused it with the continued occupation of the Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory. The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon ended in 2000. However, there has still been disputes about what constitutes the border, such as Shebaa Farms. Since 2006 its been much more about Israeli incursions into Lebanon. Hezbollah is also very vocal about considering all occupations by Israel, such as Palestine and the Golan Heights, as illegitimate, so that’s also a factor.

            Until recently, the border had been relatively quiet. Occasional rockets or drones crossed from Lebanon into Israel without leading to serious escalation, while Israel violated Lebanese airspace more than 22,000 times from 2007 to 2022.

            While the withdrawal was certified by the United Nations, Lebanon disputed it, arguing that the Shebaa Farms was part of its territory, and not part of the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel continues to occupy.

            So there are two separate issues here that lead to the current dispute: the first is that Israel occupies the Golan Heights and treats it as its own territory in violation of international law, and the second is that there was already a pre-existing disagreement between Syria and Lebanon over the border, prior to the Israeli occupation.