Voices of the Era

The fragile calm between Israel and Hezbollah has been shattered.

A powerful conflict recently erupted between Israel and Lebanon, often called the powder keg of the world. The Israeli air forces launched airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled area in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli forces were balancing the power on the northern front. These airstrikes ultimately escalated into a war, resulting in more than 10,000 casualties. Initially, Israel had a conflict with Hezbollah. To find its origin, you should go over to the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; this conflict originated between Israel and Hamas, which is a Palestinian terrorist group. At first, Hezbollah received military support from Iran, and they engaged in military conflict. In the midst of that, Hezbollah conducted a proxy war between Iran and Israel. And they have expressed support for anti-Israel sentiment to keep their political influence in Lebanon. Therefore, if Israel occupies the Gaza Strip, it might be a threat to countries like Lebanon and Syria. On the other hand, Hezbollah has struck against northern Israel, and they threaten civilians. In terms of actual military power, Israel is stronger. So, they target the deterrent effect by hardly retaliating. The most significant benefit of this attitude is that it can deter Iran's influence in the Middle East. Some people guess it is highly related to Benjamin Netanyahu's political influence. The Israeli military argued that the main targets of these airstrikes are Hezbollah infrastructure. However, video footage shared by local media shows the destruction of residential areas, and the enormous death toll reflects the scale and intensity of the strike. Regarding this, Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations General Assembly said there was a vast “exodus” of people fleeing. One Lebanese NGO said more than 100,000 people have lost their homes. Hezbollah is part of a Tehran-led alliance spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza, and Iraq that has attacked Israel and its allies and is one of the triggers of the war with Hamas. The group has said it will continue striking Israeli targets as long as the war in Gaza goes on. The escalating tensions have once again brought the region to the edge of an all-out war. The most intense exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah is approaching the level of the conflict in Gaza. The Lebanese militant group fired projectiles deeper into Israeli territory than it had previously.