As the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, life in Lebanon is poised to get ‘worse by the day’
For the second night in a row, Lebanon prepared for a new wave of airstrikes against Israel.
Wednesday night’s blasts, mainly in areas south of Beirut, were the biggest explosions the Middle Eastern country has seen in the 12-day war, which began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and killed its supreme leader.
Two days later, the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, bringing Lebanon back into full-scale conflict with Israel.
Israel launched the sanctions after Hezbollah and Iran coordinated an attack of 200 rockets fired at Israel on Wednesday evening. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed the joint attack, which is believed to be the first in a renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It is clear who is in charge and who is giving orders,” said Khalil Helou, a retired brigadier-general in the Lebanese army and a political analyst, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Almost two weeks into the war, the conflict in Lebanon is growing rapidly and has spread to many parts of the country.
“They fired 200 missiles from Lebanon and about 20 drones, large missiles and other short-range missiles into Israel,” and it was a combined mission, Helou said in an interview with CBC News in Beirut.
A series of heavy Israeli strikes hit southern Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah overwhelmed Israel’s weak Iron Dome defenses with a massive airstrike.
800,000 have been displaced in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday extended its evacuation orders, almost doubling the area of the “red zone” in southern Lebanon and ordering civilians to move north of the Zahrani River, 40 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border.
“The Israelis, they are strong,” Helou said, noting that Israel has tripled its military positions in southern Lebanon in the past two weeks, to 18 from five.
“This works [in Lebanon] it will not be short,” said Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of general staff of the Israel Defense Forces. “We will bring more troops and skills to the north…. We continue to move forward.”
About 700 people have been killed and about 800,000 displaced from their homes as Lebanon struggles to contain them, according to Lebanese authorities.
At a shelter in Beirut, Rabiaa, who only uses her first name, stood outside her tent holding a birdcage. He said he could not leave his birds at home when he fled to southern Lebanon under Israeli airstrikes five days ago.
“I support this war because it is opposition [Hezbollah] he protects us. If it wasn’t for them, we would be finished,” he told CBC News. “Look at what the Israelis are doing in Gaza…. Do you think they will fail?”
Only last week, the citizens of Beirut believed that the capital would be protected from airstrikes without Hezbollah strongholds in Dahiyeh, a southern area. But four times in 10 days, drones entered certain areas in the heart of the city.
Early Thursday morning, the Corniche, the famous square near the sea of Beirut, shook. A drone attack with at least three rockets hit the Corniche, according to a Lebanese security source.
It was targeting a vehicle carrying a Hezbollah official, the IDF said, a statement confirmed by Hezbollah. Eight people were killed and at least 30 injured, shaking the security of Lebanese people living in the city center.
A building in Bachoura in central Beirut on Thursday afternoon, a Hezbollah commander was killed, according to Israel, as the IDF announced it had launched a new wave of airstrikes in Beirut.
Israel ‘has the upper hand’
“I think it will get worse every day and more intense. We were stubborn not to touch or bomb inside Beirut. It’s over now,” said Ali Hamade, a political analyst and writer for the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar in Beirut.
“Now it will be the norm. You can have bombings or targeted killings by Israelis anywhere in the country and in the capital.”
But Beirut’s international airport remains open, and there have been few if any attacks on infrastructure such as water and electricity – mainly because the US has received assurances from Israel that it will not blow up the airport or critical infrastructure and that this war is not with Lebanon, only Hezbollah, Hamade said.
“Look, the US is thinking about the next day,” he said, explaining that he does not want a failed state in Lebanon.
But the government is a “spectator” in his country, said Hamade.
On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked for international support to settle direct talks with Israel, a proposal Israel rejected.
“They are observers. They are trying to do their best – the government; Nawaf Salam; the prime minister, President Aoun – they are trying their best, but it is not enough,” said Hamade.
“That’s why the Israelis don’t talk to the government. They don’t feel the desire to talk to them. Even Washington chooses not to listen to what the government says, because they feel that, we heard, they are empty promises.”
Hamade added: “You can promise me a month, but you cannot fulfill it.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon’s leaders on Thursday that if they don’t stop Hezbollah rockets, “we will take this place for ourselves.”
At the moment, there seems to be little room for any kind of ceasefire.
“The one who decides on a ceasefire is Israel, they have the power,” and Israel will not ask for a ceasefire, said retired brigadier-general Khalil Helou.
“The US supports Israel, and the US considers Hezbollah a major threat to American interests,” he said. “So why would the United States call for the elimination of Hezbollah at a time like this?”
