Israel Has Decided to Honor Their History of Assault and Turn to Lebanon Too
Over the past couple of weeks, Israel decided that obliterating Gaza wasn’t enough. They have decided to honor their history of assault and turn to Lebanon and Syria too. They have spared no one, using their repeated excuse for war crimes and saying that their targets were hiding underneath residential areas, thus justifying hundreds of people being killed. Reports from people on the ground are saying that people have been completely destroyed; their bodies cannot even be claimed because there is little to claim. Neighborhoods have been destroyed. Families wiped out. Over 2,000 people have been killed, including 127 children and 261 women. And as always, the West remains silent, letting their baby colony of Israel to continue with impunity.
Israel turned its genocidal eye to Lebanon in early September and throughout the month they have intensified their attacks. Focusing on Beirut, Israel launched extensive assaults in the southern part of the capital on Friday 27 September and continued them over night into Saturday. They targeted buildings, saying that this is where weapons were stored. Dahiyeh, a neighborhood in Beirut, has been pummeled with air raids, with parts of their suburbs nothing but rubble and dust. Al Manar TV reported that at least 15 missiles struck that one area. In one week alone, Israel has killed over 700 people and injured thousands.
This level of destruction and terror within Lebanon is the worst it's ever been, but it's not the first time they have been targeted by Israel. Many believe Israel is using this as a way to start the war they have always wanted to with Lebanon. In 2006, during a 34 day conflict, Israel killed over 1000 people, and Amnesty International found that they carried out indiscriminate attacks, destroying civilian infrastructure with little recourse. Before then, Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 where they occupied the south and hoped to push out the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO left, but the Israeli military remained in Lebanon. In their typical fashion, they participated in the Sabra and Shatila massacres together with right-wing Lebanese groups, killing up to 3,500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians in just two days. Resistance groups emerged, and over time the most powerful one became Hezbollah, with their central goal to combat Israel.
Over the past couple of decades, Israel and Hezbollah have gone back and forth. But it is no surprise that Israel has launched greater attacks due to their military power, as well as support from their donor nations, specifically the United States. Israel has received a cumulative $310 billion in aid from the U.S. government, making them the largest recipient by a far margin. Since 7 October, Israel has received almost $13 billion alone from the U.S. The U.S. has funded nearly every Israeli war crime. They are not complicit in Israel’s terror; they are coordinating it.
It is no wonder Israel is so emboldened. They know they will face no repercussions for their crimes. The law does not apply to them. Prime Minister Netanyahu has a warrant out for his arrest from the International Court of Justice, and yet he was allowed to walk in and address the general assembly this past week in the United Nations in New York City. From there, he made the calls to carry out the attacks in Lebanon. A wanted criminal is able to walk around freely and conduct war crimes from the very location of diplomacy and international law. No other country is allowed this freedom - this freedom to kill, to maim, to destroy.
Israel has shown that they do not want peace. They have abandoned diplomacy because they know actions speak louder than words. Why even agree to a ceasefire when your ultimate goal is to wipe out everyone? It has gotten to the point where Israel makes decisions without alerting their funders. It is clear that the U.S. is losing control of the state they have poured so much into. The Pentagon (the U.S.’s defense department) said they received no advance notice about the raid that happened. Whether or not this is true, the U.S. is losing its reign on Israel, and the hope for a “peaceful Middle East” is not possible.
The attacks in the middle of the night in Lebanon brought about the confirmed killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. With a leader of a group gone, the battle will most likely intensify. Iran has already started to get involved. This is exactly what Israel wants. To push until they receive pushback, and then use this to intensify their attacks in the name of ‘self-defense.’ They’ve done it before and will continue to do so because, well, who is going to stop them? They have also sent strikes into Syria in the capital city of Damascus, killing at least 3 civilians and injuring others. The U.S. government says they want to discuss a ceasefire, yet Israel shows that’s not the case, so now what? More people will be martyred. More people displaced. With all of this, we call on a complete and total withdrawal of Israeli aggression in Lebanon. We reaffirm our call that Israel formally ends its presence in ALL parts of Palestine. Free Palestine; Free Lebanon; and Free Syria from the murderous hand of Israel.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/27/what-we-know-about-israels-latest-attacks-on-lebanon
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/hezbollah-and-israel-a-timeline-of-conflict
