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“From the Nile to the Euphrates”: How Netanyahu Turned Lebanon into a Bargaining Chip, and Who Prevented a Catastrophe in Beirut

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03.05.2026

“From the Nile to the Euphrates”: How Netanyahu Turned Lebanon into a Bargaining Chip, and Who Prevented a Catastrophe in Beirut

April 23 became a significant date. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that was a political bombshell. Riyadh didn’t just “welcome” a ceasefire; it proposed a roadmap.

A country that was supposed to become the “Switzerland of the Middle East” has once again been reduced to ruins

The Millstones of History: Why Are Lebanese Paying Someone Else’s Price?

Lebanon has once again found itself on the geopolitical operating table. What happened this spring will go down in history as the “Tragedy of Two and a Half Thousand.” As of April 2026, the death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has exceeded 2,500. Among the dead are not only Hezbollah fighters but also journalists, doctors, and children who simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On April 23, footage circled the globe: Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an artillery strike.

Israel has occupied a buffer zone up to six miles deep in southern Lebanon. The Star of David flag once again flies over villages from which the Israelis were shamefully driven out in 2000. But this time it’s different: Netanyahu makes no secret of the fact that this isn’t just about the security of Galilee. It’s about redrawing the map.

What is the real reason for this carnage? The answer is right on the surface: Israel compensates for humiliation in one region with aggression in another. While Netanyahu found himself out of the driver’s seat during the Iran nuclear deal negotiations, forced to adapt to the positions of Washington and Riyadh, he decided to take it out on defenseless Lebanon. For him, Lebanon is an arena where he can act like the master, bringing to life the expansionist myth of a “Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.” Southern Lebanon is just the first step toward that goal.

Crimes Without Excuse: Who........

© New Eastern Outlook