Ghassan Charbel

Benjamin Netanyahu has his way of dealing with those he perceives as Israel’s enemies. He may have accepted the Gaza ceasefire, but that does not mean that he has to suspend what he believes is his right to kill his enemies. So, he violates the ceasefire and puts the blame on them. He carries out hostile operations, saying they are a retaliation to violations committed by the other side. This is happening in Gaza and in Lebanon. His ultimate priority is to “finish the job,” meaning eliminating any source of danger.

Those who have followed the statements of Israeli officials since the October 2023 attack are not surprised by what Israel did yesterday and the day before that. Those officials have said Israel will not wait for the dangers to mount against it in neighboring countries before it acts. They have asserted that Israel will take the initiative by nipping these dangers in the bud. Israel acts as if it alone has the ability to assess the nature and extent of these dangers.

Moreover, Netanyahu and his top aides have stressed that they are not looking for truces, but rather they want to decide the war in their favor and ensure that it will not erupt again. This means disarming Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — which has not happened.

Israeli officials believe that the Oct. 7, 2023, attack gave them the right to go to war to the very end and decide it in their favor. They do not want to go to war with Hamas or Hezbollah again in a year or so.

The attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday........

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