Note: Due to the evolving nature of the situation, please note that the news is current at the time of writing (25 September). This piece of news is not intended to show any position of the Observatory and its members who express their solidarity to all the people who are suffering under the noise of bombs and rockets.
Our worst fears are turning into reality. This Monday, Israel started targeting Lebanon with hundreds of air strikes. It quickly became the deadliest day of violence since Israel and Hezbollah went to war back in 2006. How long the cumulative deterrence strategy between Israel and Lebanon could last and avoid the regionalisation of the conflict? But let’s be clear: fears of escalation are growing as Israel multiplies its signals of a possible ground invasion.
But let’s dive into the Gazification of Lebanon. Israel claims to be targeting Hezbollah’s arsenal, with which the group has already sent hundreds of missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory since October 7th, most of them intercepted by the Iron Dome. Once again, as we’ve seen in the war on Gaza, Israel is asking civilians to flee the regions “used by terrorists”. So far, they have hit the South and Eastern regions of the country, as well as the capital, Beirut. The Lebanese Health Ministry counts almost 500 victims, including 50 children. As of Tuesday, tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens are fleeing the Southof the country.
This aggression comes after the explosion of electronic devices all around the country. On September 17th, thousands of pagers, mostly used by Hezbollah’s members, exploded causing around 12 deaths and more than 2000 injured. The next day, walkie-talkies and other devices went off as well causing another wave of panic. While these attacks are believed to be carried out by Israel, there are still many questions surrounding such a sophisticated attack.
How is the international community responding? The UN Secretary-Generalshowed his concern regarding the “escalating situation” in the region and Josep Borell, the EU foreign policy chief, warned “we are almost in a full-fledged war” and called for de-escalation at the UN General Assemblyon September 22nd. Hezbollah’s ally, Iran, accused Israel of trying to bait it into a conflict with “irreversible consequences”. The US, which has given Israel billions of dollars in weapons, is now sending troops to help evacuate its citizens from the region.
No rest in Gaza Meanwhile. Israeli attacks on Gaza remain relentless. 12 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours and negotiations keep proving useless. Gaza’s health ministry published last week the list of 34,344 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks in the territory. The publication shows the names, ages, gender, and IDs of what is believed to be only 80%of the total casualties since October 7th.
The full story of Palestinian losses, however, cannot be seen with just the official death toll. While thousands are still buried under the rubble, many others are dying of the indirect effects of war: hunger, lack of medication and shelter, the spread of diseases, and the collapse of the healthcare system.
In the latest developments, the IDF raided the Al Jazeera offices in the city of Ramallah, West Bank. The news broadcaster’s equipment was confiscated and their activity shut down for 45 days. An intelligence assessment conducted by Israel claimed that the news office was being used to “incite terror” and “support terrorist activities”. The Foreign Press Association showed its concern about the lack of press freedom. Al Jazeera, one of the only broadcaster media present in the field, condemned its closure and complained about what they named “unfounded allegations”.
