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On September 23, a phone rang in a distant house in South Lebanon. When answering the phone, an automated voice urged residents to evacuate immediately. "You are not our enemies; Hezbollah has been using the people of Lebanon as a human shield for so long. We advise you to evacuate the area," the automated message said. Soon after the message, southern Lebanon rumbled with air missiles, sending shockwaves to 5.5 million people.
Similar messages were received through texts and radio, the Times of India reported. What followed was the series of blasts that echoed across the nation.
Several innocent civilians have lost their lives, and hundreds are injured. This announcement came just days after Israel exploded 3000 pagers and other electronic devices in Lebanon.
Since the fall of last year, Israel and Lebanon have been at war. Still, the matter escalated when on September 16, Israel announced that it was going to get stricter against Hezbollah, a militant political party in Lebanon and a US-declared terrorist group. On the following day, 17th September, at approximately 3:45 PM local time, 3000 pagers were detonated across the country. Footage showed explosions resembling small detonations, triggering panic as victims rushed to receive medical attention.
And not just pagers; common-day electronic items, such as solar panels and fingerprint sensors, were also weaponized in an attempt to threaten Hezbollah, several reports cited.
After the incident, Hezbollah also started crossfire on Israel, and since then both nations have exchanged several missile attacks on one another. Even in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the UN offered both nations a peace offering, but it seems that violence is the only response either nation is willing to provide
The pager attack, Israel’s latest war crime, began with extensive intelligence gathering by Israeli agencies, notably Mossad. Since Hezbollah had switched from smartphones—considered vulnerable to tracking—to pagers for secure communication, Israeli operatives identified this shift as a tactical opportunity. Reports indicate that Israeli intelligence monitored Hezbollah’s communications for months to assess their operational methods and identify weaknesses.
Israel sought to infiltrate the supply chain of the pagers used by Hezbollah. The pagers, primarily sourced from a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo, were procured through intermediaries. It is believed that shell companies were utilized within this process to mask the true origin and purpose of the pagers. We don't know the name of the shell company yet.
However, some intermediaries purchased over 3000 pagers from Gold Apollo on behalf of Hezbollah. Allegedly, Israel infiltrated the shipment and planted 3 grams of explosives in the pagers. It was planted as a surprise attack on Hezbollah.
However, reports suggest that Hezbollah got a whiff of the tampering and hence was planning an attack on Israel. So, it was a use-it-or-lose situation for Israel. Israel chose to detonate the pagers, which injured hundreds of Hezbollah members over two days. In the attack, several key leaders of Hezbollah were injured and hospitalized. More than 19,000 people have fled out of the nation in just one week.
Lebanon's social, economic, and political crises have been aggregated due to dysfunctional leadership, high corruption levels, soaring international debt, plunging currency, the Israel-Hamas War, and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a large part of it contributed to the practice of confessionalism.
Confessionalism is the practice of dividing the political and administrative power of a country among religious communities based on their population. The French introduced it as a 'temporary measure' to maintain peace until permanent solutions emerge.
But today, after almost 80 years, confessionalism is still a critical part of the Lebanese government. This is also the prime reason why the position of president is still vacant in Lebanon since 2022. As per the confessionalism rules of Lebanon, the president must be chosen from Maronite Christians, a community that comprised 52% of the Lebanese population at the time of the French mandate in 1943.
But over the years, Lebanon has become a Muslim-dominant nation. Today, 67% of the population follows Islamic religious practices, 30% Christians, and 3% Druze. This change in population demographics has also birthed internal conflict among the population. These internal conflicts led to the establishment of Hezbollah, a Muslim-dominant political party in Lebanon.
Today, Hezbollah oversees governance, the military, healthcare, education, and social services. It operates as both a political party and a militant group while providing social services to its constituents.
At first glance, it appears as an issue of land disputes between the two nations. After the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, which aimed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and maintain peace in southern Lebanon.
As per the resolution, Hezbollah was asked to withdraw 29 kilometers from south Lebanon, which it refused, citing Israel's non-obedience to the resolution. As per the resolution, Israel was also asked to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon and submit a map of planted landmines in south Lebanon to the UN. According to Hezbollah, these goals have not been accomplished.
The inability to address these concerns has left a vacuum of authority and stability along the Israel-Lebanon border. This has also created a cycle of blame, where Hezbollah's refusal to comply is justified by its perception of Israeli non-compliance. The ongoing presence of Hezbollah along the border continues to pose a security threat to Israel, which, in turn, influences Israel's military strategies and operations in the region. The Land dispute is just one aspect of the war. The conflict also stems from historical grievances, territorial disputes, ideological differences, geopolitical influences, and immediate triggers.
Since the 2006 war, Lebanon has been in economic, political, and psychological crises. The nation’s economy is plunging into international debt. Lebanon has an economy of $22 billion (GDP, 2024) and owes more than $17 billion (as of July 2024) to Eurobonds and other foreign creditors.
Since 2019, Lebanese currency has fallen 98% in comparison to the US dollar. This extreme devaluation has pushed more than 80 percent of people into poverty and caused an extreme financial crunch in the country. Fear of their lives haunts Lebanese citizens every day. Amid the crises, Lebanon is facing a brain drain issue.
Millions of people have already left their hometowns for better lifestyles and security. Those who remain behind rely on migrants' remittances to survive. Amid such crises, rendering necessities—such as food and electricity—has become a luxury for Lebanese people.
Citizens have lost faith in financial institutions and are looting banks to get a hold of their own money. Electricity has also become a luxury in the nation. Some reports indicate that Lebanese people get only about an hour of electricity daily.
A war's damage is never limited to one side. Israel is larger in size, denser in population, more technologically advanced, has more stable leadership, and has a larger army than Lebanon. But, the war has adversely impacted Israel as well. The conflict with Hezbollah has led to Israeli casualties and economic costs. Despite Israel's military superiority, the ongoing conflict with Lebanon has created strained relationships with neighboring countries and increased international scrutiny.
Thousands of people have migrated out of northern regions near the Lebanon border, such as Kiryat Shmona. Over 1000 structures have been damaged in Northern Israel, and severe damage to agricultural lands has also been reported. Tourism in Israel has shrunk by 75% as the country doubled its investment in defense technologies.
We agree with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, who believes that the US is the only nation that can improve the condition in the Middle East. Because of its position as the largest arms exporter, reliance on the oil reserve of the Middle East, and successful track record of previous peace accords (The Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, (1978), Oslo Accords (1993)), the United States has had diplomatic influence and a significant presence in the Middle East for many decades. It is one of the only nations, after UN, which can intermediate the ongoing conflict.
The once-proud title of "Switzerland of the Middle East" has vanished in the distant sands. Today Lebanon faces instability. However, its situation is still incomparable with similar Muslim-dominant nations, which are plagued by anarchy. Currently, the situation in Lebanon is more structured due to Hezbollah’s integration into the political landscape.
Although there is no denying that Hezbollah acts similar to groups exploiting sectarian divisions, its strong political roots in the country sets Lebanon apart from lawlessness and fragmentation, as noted in other war-hit middle-eastern nations.
Amid war, Lebanon's future remains uncertain. Not just political, social, and psychological impacts, the country risks losing its identity this time.
This is no longer a war over land; it has become a war of deep-rooted hatred, where even children are growing up learning only division and conflict. With such hostile environment, we wonder what kind of future generation these nations will raise—one shaped by violence and bitterness, with no room for hope or peace.
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