What is at the root of Israel’s aggression in Lebanon?

Lebanon is experiencing its bloodiest days since 1990 when the years-long civil war ended in a maelstrom of death and destruction.

Devastating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon since September 23 have killed over 1,000 people, including Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, and left about one million homeless. Lebanese Health Minister Firaz Abiad confirmed that the dead included more than 160 women and children, while an estimated 2,000 people have been injured since the start of Israel's air strikes on Lebanon.

The Israeli army, in a separate statement, said that 1,300 targets were struck during the air strikes.

The horror for the Lebanese people, however, started when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously across the country on September 17, resulting in the deaths of 12 people and injuries to 3,000 others.

A day later, handheld radio devices exploded across the country, leading to 20 more deaths and 450 injuries.

The prevailing hypothesis is that the explosions were the result of an Israeli intelligence operation involving the placement of explosives in the pagers and radios.

However, these air strikes and explosions have brought one critical issue into sharp focus. The long-standing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has entered a new phase.

All available evidence suggests that Israel is aiming to extend its year-long occupation and genocide in Gaza to Lebanon.

This raises the moot questions: what drives Israel’s increasing aggression, and how has the situation escalated to this point?

History fueled by occupation

When Israel's statehood and its historical trajectory are examined, it becomes evident that the state has thrived on conflict and crisis.

The formal occupation of Palestinian territories and the displacement of the Palestinian people began on May 14, 1948, long before Tel Aviv launched its brutal war on October 7, 2023.

The origins of this occupation can be traced to the Zionist movement that emerged in the late 19th century, the British mandate over Palestine, and the 1947 United Nations plan to partition Palestine.

On the day the occupation was declared, Jewish settlers occupied approximately 55 percent of Palestinian land allocated to them by the United Nations.

Through subsequent wars, the extent of this occupation expanded. By the end of the 1948 war, the occupied territories grew to 78 percent, and following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel seized control of East Jerusalem, Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, the city of Quneitra, and the Syrian Golan Heights.

Throughout this process, more than six million Palestinians were displaced and forcibly removed from their lands.

In essence, Israel has continued to occupy increasing portions of Palestinian land. Reports indicate that by the end of 2023, less than 15 percent of the land remained under Palestinian control.

Historical evidence clearly shows Israel as the occupying state whose territorial expansion has been fueled by conflict and war.

Although Israel’s occupation is partly driven by the ambition to establish a so-called ‘greater Israel’, a fundamental motivation stems from the belief that Jews are a superior, God-chosen people and that Palestine is their promised land.

Israel Shahak, the president of the Israel Association for Human Rights and Citizenship, notes that, from an Israeli perspective, everything is divided into categories of Jews and non-Jews.

According to him, in the Jewish state, only Jews are regarded as human beings, while non-Jews are seen as lesser beings.

This viewpoint suggests that non-Jews exist primarily as a means to produce resources for Jews. From this Zionist perspective, the expulsion of non-Jews from the Promised Land is considered, above all, a religious obligation.

What happened in the recent past?

The south of Lebanon represents a significant part of Israel’s expansionist ambitions. Since the establishment of Israel, the region has been repeatedly subjected to attacks by the Israeli army, and major wars have been fought.

The most recent and bloodiest large-scale conflict between Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army occurred in 2006.

Referred to in Israel as the ‘Second Lebanon War’ and internationally known as the ‘33-Day War’, it began on July 12, 2006, and ended on August 14, 2006, marking a turning point in Lebanese-Israeli relations.

In this extensive war initiated by Israel, an estimated 40,000 Israeli troops were mobilised, and the Israeli Air Force conducted an average of 270 combat sorties per day.

As a result of these air strikes, at least 15,000 homes were completely destroyed. Additionally, more than 30 critical infrastructure sites, including airports, commercial ports, hydroelectric power plants, oil refineries, and 80 bridges, were obliterated.

The strikes also claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 Lebanese civilians and 180 Hezbollah members. In retaliation, Lebanese Hezbollah launched 4,000 missiles at Israel, resulting in the death of 165 Israelis.

Moreover, the Israeli army executed 170,000 artillery strikes against various targets, while the Israeli navy conducted 2,500 strikes on coastal targets.

Despite the war’s devastating impact on Lebanon, Israel was forced to retreat due to the geopolitical realities of the time, resulting in a temporary detente between the two sides.

However, this period of de-escalation appears to have ended, as tensions have risen again, and the region seems on the brink of another full-scale war.

According to Netanyahu, this is the opportunity!

Since the onset of what has been referred to as the genocide in Gaza, history has witnessed an unprecedented level of barbarism rarely, if ever, seen in recent times.

Over the past year, this genocide has resulted in the death of nearly 42,000 people, with 10,000 missing and 100,000 reported injured.

Addressing the world from the podium at the 79th United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a passionate plea to the international community to intervene and stop the murderous Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Recent developments indicate that Lebanon is becoming the next target in this genocidal policy.

It can be argued that the primary reason for Israel intending to implement a policy similar to that in Gaza in southern Lebanon is the impunity they have enjoyed for their actions in Gaza over the past year, the lack of an anticipated response to their attacks on Lebanese Hezbollah, and the significant erosion of Iran's deterrence capabilities, as exemplified by the case of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

For an extended period, Israel has conducted lethal attacks against Lebanese Hezbollah, resulting in the death of numerous senior officials.

However, the response from Lebanese Hezbollah has been markedly inadequate, largely limited to rhetorical statements and ineffective rocket and missile attacks.

This situation has emboldened the most radical government in Israel's history, sending a message of opportunity that encourages even more radical actions.

Regrettably, the primary victims of this ongoing conflict have been Lebanese civilians and, by extension, humanity itself.