Lebanon Caught Between Israel And Hezbollah |
Nearly a month into its third war with Hezbollah since 2006, Israel has expanded its ground and air operations in Lebanon and may yet launch a fullscale invasion of southern Lebanon.
As Defense Minister Israel Katz indicated, Israel intends to create a buffer zone in territory south of the Litani River, a distance of some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.
As Katz outlined Israel’s plan, Lebanon’s government ordered the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammed Reza Shibani. This occurred after Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji withdrew Shibani’s accreditation and declared him persona non grata. He was due to leave Beirut on March 29.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, backed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, issued this unprecedented order to reduce Iran’s political influence in Lebanon after banning Hezbollah’s military activities outside state institutions and requiring it to disarm.
The Lebanese authorities face an almost impossible task in trying to whittle Hezbollah down to size, given Hezbollah’s vast arsenal of weapons, its influential role in local politics, and its hold on its mainly Shi’a constituency.
Hezbollah is a hard nut to crack. It will be recalled that it captured parts of Beirut in 2008 after the government tried to dismantle its private telecommunication network.
Israel’s current war in Lebanon erupted on March 2, two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and decimated much of its leadership. Hezbollah, acting on Iran’s behest, fired rockets into Israel, almost a year-and-a-half after a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France ended the 2024 war.
This time around, Israel is determined to further degrade Hezbollah’s military assets. By all accounts, Israel has deployed four army........