Why is Israel attacking Lebanon ?
This week, Lebanon experienced lethal explosions aimed against the communication equipment of Hezbollah members. The explosions resulted in the killing of at least 32 people, including two children and numerous healthcare professionals, while injuring countless more.
Israel has not denied responsibility for the mass cyberattack, but multiple officials associated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have suggested that Israel was the perpetrator.
This signifies a fresh escalation in the previously protracted war of attrition between Hezbollah and Israel. The scale of the attack is substantial and unparalleled; nonetheless, it should not have come as a surprise.
For weeks, Israeli officials have indicated the necessity of military intervention to halt Hezbollah rockets and facilitate the return of almost 60,000 displaced Israelis to their northern residences.
On the eve of the assaults, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed American officials that "time is running out" to prevent the escalation with Hezbollah from escalating into a full-scale war.
This attack may signify the onset of such a war. Israel's ongoing provocations will compel Hezbollah to retaliate, rendering a full-scale war the inevitable consequence.
On Thursday, Israel intensified its onslaught, marking the most severe bombardment of southern Lebanon since the onset of the war. An extensive airstrike on a highly populated residential area in Beirut on Friday resulted in killing at least 45 people, including children, as well as top Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil.
The prospect of war will have ramifications extending beyond Lebanon, diverting global focus from Gaza and enabling Israel to finalize its extensive murdering and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
The recent provocations in Lebanon were strategically timed, given the present US administration's constraints in persuading Israel to avert a full-scale war, which is a goal for numerous Israeli officials.
In June, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who consistently warned Netanyahu against a ceasefire agreement, advocated for the invasion of Lebanon. One month later, Smotrich reiterated his proposal for the occupation of south Lebanon. Amidst the distractions of a contentious election year in the US, Netanyahu is fulfilling the aspirations of Smotrich and Ben Gvir.
In a prospective war with Lebanon, Israel would utilize many tactics previously employed in Gaza, including the targeting of civilian infrastructure, bombardment of residential areas, and starving the population.
This war will probably attract significant worldwide attention, as it should, due to the substantial civilian losses anticipated. Nevertheless, as global attention centers on Lebanon, Israel may be pursuing a more sinister objective: finalizing its ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
In recent months, worldwide focus on the plight in Gaza has waned.
If a war erupts in Lebanon, any remaining focus on Gaza will shift to Lebanon. This diversion will afford Israel an ideal pretext to persist with its campaign of exterminating, injuring, starving, and displacing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Since the onset of the war and through leaked documents, it has been apparent that Israel intends to permanently eliminate the Palestinian presence in Gaza, either by expelling them to Egypt or exterminating them.
According to Palestinian health officials, the genocide in Gaza has officially resulted in killing over 41,000 Palestinians. A study released by The Lancet in July indicates that Gaza's actual death toll may exceed 186,000. Following nearly a year of Israel's war with Gaza, Palestinians are fighting to survive the impending consequence of Israel's objective—total annihilation.
The Israeli government has recently designated a permanent military governor over Gaza, indicating its prolonged occupation and even annexation. Such strategies are difficult to conceal under current global scrutiny. A war in Lebanon may divert global attention from Gaza, facilitating Israel's pursuit of its genocidal objectives in Gaza.
The global discourse surrounding the continuous bombardment of schools, the assassination of humanitarian workers, and the obstruction of aid distribution has ceased. June recorded the lowest number of relief trucks entering Gaza since October, a record surpassed by August.
Prior to the war, Gaza required approximately 500 aid trucks daily. In August, humanitarian truckloads averaged 69 trucks per day. This systematic reduction in assistance is intentional. The plan aims to expel Palestinians to Egypt or, if unsuccessful, to starve them to death.
This plan will be completely implemented in Gaza with a new front in Lebanon. Israel's objective of ethnically cleansing Gaza persists, and if it is imperative to shed light on the situation in Lebanon should a war ensue, we must also prevent Israel from hastening its genocidal agenda in Gaza.
The Arab world must unite in resistance to Israel's atrocities in Gaza and its assault on Lebanon. The international community must respond decisively by imposing sanctions on the Israeli government for its acts.
We must remember Gaza, because history will certainly not forget it.