The unending war of others

On April 23, the world witnessed two starkly contrasting images. In the White House, US President Donald Trump, alongside Lebanese and Israeli representatives, extended the ceasefire for another three weeks. But back in southern Lebanon, in the small town of Al-Bissarriyeh, hundreds of mourners buried Amal Khalil, a Lebanese journalist killed in an Israeli airstrike during the ‘historic’ ceasefire.

The truce announced that day exists only in the imaginary world of superpowers. On the ground, Israel continues bombing, intense artillery shelling, detonating buildings, razing villages, and occupying swaths of terrain in southern Lebanon. In the eerie landscape, thunderous bombings echo and thick billowing clouds of black smoke drift over haunted villages.

Israel has established a 10-km-deep “security zone” often referred to as the Yellow Line inside Lebanese territory, citing the need to guard against threats from Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israel’s Defense Minister said his forces would “destroy all houses in Lebanon border villages in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.”

The truce announced that day exists only in the imaginary world of superpowers.

- Owais Tohid

Lebanon, which borders Syria and Israel, has been a battleground for decades, with Israel and Hezbollah center stage. 

Caught between the armed rivalry of Iran and Israel, this beautiful country — home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations — finds itself once again on the frontlines of a volatile regional conflict following the slaying of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by US and Israeli forces as they launched their war on Iran in February.

Hundreds have died since then, with thousands injured and nearly a quarter of the population — around 1.3 million people — displaced.

On April 8, the same day a ceasefire took effect between the US and Iran, Israeli forces carried out an aerial massacre in Beirut. Within 10 minutes, several buildings were decimated and the dead and wounded lay scattered across concrete slabs and twisted metal. The city was shrouded in black smoke, destruction and terror; 357 dead and 1,200 injured. The Lebanese call it Black Wednesday — one of the deadliest days in the country’s history. Israel named its operation “Eternal Darkness.” 

“I have stopped trying to understand what’s happening. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a regional and global game, and we are just pawns,” Dr. Zina Sawaf, who teaches at the American University of Beirut told me.

She echoes the sentiments of many in Lebanon who believe their country is paying the price for the wars of regional and global powers. They call it “Harb Al-Akharin” in Arabic, meaning “The War of Others.”

Israel has continued relentless strikes despite a so-called temporary ceasefire, killing civilians, causing destruction and fueling disenchantment. Many in Lebanon perceive Israeli hits as targeting the Shi’ite community specifically.

In the villages and towns of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah fighters are responding by firing rockets into Israel. 

“There is a funeral every day in the south,” Hussein Hamdan, a Beirut-based transport businessman said. 

“The men are staying in the villages, but the women and children have left. When I go to see my father, the villages feel like all life has been leeched out of them.” 

Conflicts, wars, displacements and migrations have become ingrained in Lebanese lives for generations. Bullet-riddled buildings and demolished historical monuments still stand as grim reminders of the Lebanese Civil War, which swallowed more than 150,000 lives over 15 devastating years. 

“I was born during the civil war,” Hamdan said.

“As a youth, I witnessed the celebrations when Israeli forces withdrew from our country in 2000. I lived through the 33 days of the 2006 war against Israel, then a decade-long war in Syria. And now I am living through another war with my eight-year-old son.”

“My grandfather told me stories about visiting Palestine, where him and his friends would buy and sell fruit. Those were the days before the Nakba. The Israelis became enemies when the Lebanese opened their arms to the Palestinians. Since then, they have been trying to occupy our land. But the Lebanese are amazingly resilient people – they know how to survive a war.”

Lebanon’s new government favors peace with Israel and appears to align closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of disarming Hezbollah. 

The Lebanese government led by President Joseph Aoun – a former military chief – and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, has sought to counter Iranian influence, ordered the expulsion of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and even revoked the Iranian ambassador’s diplomatic status. It has also banned Hezbollah’s military activities and vowed to finally implement UN Resolution 1701, which was passed to end the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah but was never fully enacted. Its provisions included a call for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Last year, the Lebanese army presented a phased approach to disarming Hezbollah, which quickly rejected the decision and called it a “grave sin.”

Lebanese society itself is split over Hezbollah. Some see the group as bringing trouble upon the Lebanese people, while others – particularly within the Shi’ite community – do not view it as a militant organization. It is deeply embedded in the country’s politics and society, running a broad social welfare network and wielding significant influence.

With pro-Palestinian sentiment surging on the streets after the war in Gaza, many Lebanese – particularly in the south – regard Hezbollah “as a protector against Israeli occupation.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is providing the US umbrella for both Netanyahu and Aoun, who are likely to travel to Washington this month for a peace summit. All three are pushing to disarm Hezbollah and thereby fracturing Iran’s regional network.

“Iran is most unlikely to detach itself from Hezbollah and Hamas, along with the Houthis of Yemen. They are Iran’s first line of defense in the Middle East and also part of their military doctrine. A betrayal would mean a loss of decades of work,” said Dr. Maria Sultan, a leading Pakistani defense analyst at Islamabad-based SASSI University.

Following the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria in December 2024 and Israel’s subsequent elimination of key Hezbollah leadership figures, Iran’s military influence has diminished in the Middle East, leaving Hezbollah weakened. Once the wider war ends, it is believed Tehran will focus on reconstruction rather than becoming entangled in another conflict.

“Iran seeks a permanent ceasefire in the region, including Lebanon – a key demand in the Islamabad talks. However, Israel will continue attacking Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah as a proxy for Iran and a way to weaken Iran’s regional influence. So Iran and Israel will remain engaged in conflict, even if the US and Iran conflict ends,” says Sultan. 

To her, it remains to be seen, once the conflict ends, how Iran retains its ground in the Middle East if Israel makes Lebanon a testing ground for will and influence. 

“Lebanon, unfortunately will become the new battlefield for the Middle East if peace is not made permanent through structural engagement,” she said. 

“It will not be an easy task given the region’s changing dynamics.”

An apocryphal anecdote from 2010 reflects the deep rooted ideological and military alliance between Iran and Hezbollah. The Lebanese culture minister of the time and Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. After Hariri spoke about Lebanon and the problem of Hezbollah’s weapons, Khamenei asked: “Have you read The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

The Ayatollah used the story as a metaphor: “The very beautiful woman – perhaps the most beautiful woman in Paris — Esmeralda, is wanted by all those in power. She had a sharp, beautiful dagger to defend herself against them and against all threats to her. Lebanon is the beauty of the Mediterranean. Every country wants it, and Israel is a threat. Hezbollah is Esmeralda’s dagger.”

In pushing for disarmament, the Lebanese government will be treading on shaky ground, given that Iran enjoys social, political and military influence and Hezbollah remains its key bet. More so since it must deal with an economy in shambles.

Recent studies have shown that around 60 percent of Lebanon’s population lives in poverty, and the country has yet to recover from the 2019 financial crisis. The following year, the monstrous blast at Beirut port caused death and destruction, incurring losses of an estimated $8 billion. Then the Israel war of 2023-24 put an additional burden of over $10 billion. 

The small but complex country also has deep ethnic and sectarian fault lines. 

The Lebanese government’s peace plans with Israel are further dividing its riven society. Israel, for its part, appears to harbor expansionist designs. 

Even if the broader war involving Iran ends, there are fears that a collapsing Lebanon could become a bleeding wound in the Middle East.

- Owais Tohid has reported extensively on war and conflict in Asia for 30 years and witnessed the rise and fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan. He has also covered the Palestinian conflict in the Occupied Territories and worked for the BBC World Service, AFP and CS Monitor. X: @OwaisTohid