Israel & Lebanon
Written by: Vidur Srikrishna
Last updated: September 25, 2024
Summary:
Over the past 11 months, tensions between Hezbollah (the Lebanese militant group) have escalated. (According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and many other countries, and has deep-rooted military alliances with repressive, anti-Israel regimes in Iran and Syria). Hezbollah has been firing rockets, missiles, and drones into Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza. They also are allied with Hamas, which is also an Iran-backed militant group. Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and targeting (and killing) Hezbollah commanders. For example, Israel said a strike in Beirut had killed Ibrahim Kobeisi, a commander in their rocket and missile unit and his death was confirmed by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that this strike killed 6 people and wounded 15. In total, Israeli strikes on Monday killed 492 people and wounded 1645 people. This has caused many residents to try to flee away from southern Lebanon to Beirut or out of the country to Syria. On Wednesday, another 72 people were killed in more Israeli strikes, and the death toll from the past 3 days is around 636 with over 2,000 wounded (as of September 25, 2024).
Analysis:
The United States still thinks they can try a diplomatic approach between Israel and Hezbollah. During his final speech at the UN General Assembly, President Biden stated, “A solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security and to allow the residents of both countries to return to their homes.” According to Reuters, the United States and France were trying to hammer out an agreement to avoid further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military has said that it had no immediate plans for a group invasion, however, Herzi Halevi said that Israel’s air strikes were designed to prepare the ground for possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah. The White House is supporting (what they say as) Israel’s right to hit Hezbollah. According to the BBC, the White House denies that it’s pursuing a diplomatic effort doomed to defeat and that President Biden has given up hope of achieving a breakthrough with four months left in office.
Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel. He may have been fully supporting Israel to gain leverage with leaders and to influence them, however, if that was the idea, it seems to have not worked. It also seems that Israel’s government hasn’t been taking his advice if he has been offering it. Still, the United States supports Israel with billions of dollars. The support of Israel also brought about protests and riots within the United States. If the United States is to get involved by favoring one side, which side would they pick? It seems to be a lose-lose scenario. On the one hand, favoring Israel again would lead to better relations with the country and continue their previous support. They also categorize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, so they would be fighting against terrorism, as the United States has been known to do. This would lead to more issues internally, however, as many Americans do not side with Israel due to the way they have dealt with the situation in Gaza. If the United States supports Hezbollah, however, they would be protecting and supporting a group that they explicitly categorize as terrorists. Will this disrupt the US’s reputation as a diplomatic force on an international stage? In my opinion, their reputation has already suffered from what has happened between Israel and Palestine, and it seems like it will decline from here due to the predicament I mentioned earlier. If they are to pick a side, no matter which side they pick, they most likely will end up in a losing situation. Another important factor to keep in mind is the state of the United States presidential elections currently. Since President Biden will not be running again, will he step up his game in this situation? Of course, the United States will not leave this situation, however, he may take a more relaxed approach. If this happens, however, there will be more pressure on the President to take action. He won’t be trying to gain the popularity of Americans to get reelected, however, so he may approach this situation differently. Lastly, the United States has to put more stress on this escalating conflict rather than on the presidential elections right now. Certainly, they have to focus on the election as it determines the country’s future, however, it cannot take all of the attention away from the issue at hand.
