Talks
Over the weekend, Israel struck an alleged Hezbollah site in southern Beirut, Lebanon. These were met with retaliatory strikes from Tehran, with Iranians warning Israel to stop their conduct in Lebanon.
This comes despite a ceasefire agreed to between Israel and Lebanon earlier in the week in Washington, DC. The US-brokered talks, which did not include Hezbollah, implemented a ceasefire requiring a “complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah.
A joint statement said the ceasefire was “contingent on a complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah – as well as the removal of the group’s operatives from southern Lebanon. A Hezbollah spokesperson informed the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency on Thursday that the group had rejected the ceasefire deal, and that the group had informed Lebanese authorities of this.
Since March, there have been several rounds of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats following intensified military action from the Israelis and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the country’s military will continue its presence and carry on its “operations” in Lebanon.
On the Ground in Lebanon
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese residents, forced from their homes in the south by Israel’s military since the operations began, would also not be allowed to return, according to Katz.
Of these alleged sites, many Lebanese residents have found themselves caught in the crossfire of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The death toll from Lebanon has reportedly surpassed 3,000 since the beginning of March, according to officials from the Ministry of Public Health.
The border villages and towns of southern Lebanon have been subject to intense military escalation, and areas such as Nabatieh and Tyre have faced some of the worst of Israeli threats and attacks.
Survivors of the bombardments are left to grapple with the destruction of their homes and their lives. Lebanon, and its people, were pulled into this conflict on March 2nd by no fault of their own. Since then, towns and villages have been struck, residents forced to flee their homes and families torn apart.
Some of those people are the volunteer medics, who have vowed to carry on through the brutality. Since the strikes began, their responsibilities have expanded from providing life-saving medical care to distributing humanitarian aid. In the city of Nabatieh, the medics live together instead of with their families, in fear of them being targeted. Nabatieh has been one of the worst hit cities in Lebanon in the last few weeks. A once buzzing city now lies almost deserted, as the Israeli military intensifies its offensive and pushes into the region.
In Tyre, Israeli forces issued an order for residents to evacuate the city before carrying out strikes on June 9th. Earlier this month, three hospitals were hit within one week in and around Tyre, which killed nine and injured more than 150 – most of whom were medical staff.
Across the country, more than 100 medical workers have been killed in the current fighting with Israel, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, and at least 20 have died since an original ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in April. While talks of fragile negotiations and ceasefire deals continue, the people of Lebanon live nearly day-to-day with bombardments. When a new ceasefire is announced, many in Lebanon’s south are pessimistic that it would mean an end to the violence. Speaking to the New York Times, Ali Omeiss, a doctor at Nabih Berri Hospital in Nabatieh, said:
“Every night we hear that there will be a new cease-fire, and then every morning there are new strikes,”
On the larger scale, Al Jazeera has reported a “systematic” demolition of Lebanese border towns, comparing the destruction seen in Gaza. Through a series of visual investigations such as satellite imagery and open-source intelligence, the news outlet revealed its findings.
While Israel claims its goals are to create a “buffer zone” in the region to prevent attacks from Hezbollah, warnings from legal experts, analysts and local officials indicate that the ultimate objective is the “emptying of residential geography”.
Iran has stated that its military operations against Israel have ended for the time being, while cautioning that strikes could restart should Israel continue attacking Lebanon.
