Supporters wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags at a pro-Hezbollah rally in the southern Beirut suburbs, Oct. 8, 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Issam Abdallah, a Reuters journalist, was part of Lebanon’s Oct. 17 generation. He aimed to transform a country known for its wars, militias, petty deal-brokering and sectarianism.
On Oct. 13, Abdallah was killed by Israeli strikes targeting the Almaal-Chaab region in southern Lebanon. Videos before the strikes showed a group of clearly identifiable journalists with little else in sight but rolling green hills.
Why was this location targeted, if not to specifically hit these journalists, six of whom were also injured?
Israel has proven its capability to hit moving targets with incredible accuracy, especially in Syria in recent years. Can Abdallah’s killing be dismissed as a mere oversight? This seems unlikely, given Israel's past record. According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel killed 20 Palestinian journalists between 2000 and 2022. Besides Issam Abdallah, 11 more Palestinian journalists were killed since the beginning of the Israeli operation in Gaza this month.
Hezbollah responded fiercely to Abdallah's death, accusing Israel and pointing out the "bias and deliberate oversight" of entities like the UN, UNIFIL, the White House spokesperson, Reuters and other media who failed to properly identify the responsible party. This is despite the fact that Hezbollah itself is accused of killing many intellectuals, journalists and politicians over the past two decades.
If it weren't so tragic, this entire episode might seem ironic, reflecting the status of Lebanon in 2023: a failed state in a non-country, one that nevertheless declares war on LGBTQ+ individuals and Syrian refugees. Yet, its inability to decide or at least prevent Hezbollah from initiating war (a real one this time) against the region's strongest army, backed by the world's most powerful military, is glaring.
It is a stark picture of Lebanon, stripped of any pretense: an ineffective government, with its caretaker prime minister admitting his powerlessness against the threat of war. The self-declared opposition, continually challenging Hezbollah, merely stands by, watching a country held hostage by a militant group. Everyone else seems more focused on their small gains than preventing Lebanon from plunging into chaos.
Lebanon is caught between the hammer of Israel and the anvil of Hezbollah. In this perilous trap, there's no functioning state and no capable leaders to protect its citizens.
Ali Khamenei will hear from Hassan Nasrallah and other influential figures and, in the coming weeks, will determine whether Lebanon will be sacrificed for the “Iranian cause.” And while we can lament our fate, recall history and geography, blame the West and Arabs for abandoning us, and berate Israel, which will show no mercy to Lebanon, the blame ultimately falls on us. It was the Lebanese people, whether out of fear or opportunism, who handed the nation to Hezbollah. And now, they stand by, allowing it to dictate their destiny without resistance.
This piece was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour.