A man holding a crutch looks in despair at the ruins of the Nabatieh souks, pulverized the previous day by Israel, on Oct. 13, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/OLJ)
The fifth Israeli-Lebanese war, the third war between Hezbollah and Israel on Lebanese soil, or the war in support of Gaza, are all designations which do not do justice to the massacre that is finishing off Lebanon while the world watches. This massacre will go down in history as the ‘unnecessary war’. The ‘unnecessary war’ because Lebanon is already drained dry, has reached the end of a hellish cycle of cataclysms and has had its share of bankruptcies, explosions, disintegration, and above all, contempt. An ‘unnecessary war’ because Lebanon has been at war for too long (since 1975, or 1969 or even 1958, some would say). An ‘unnecessary war’ because it could have been avoided, had Hezbollah not decided to drag Lebanon into the arrogant path of supporting Gaza. Or, for those who do not situate the beginnings on Oct. 7, 2023, had the...
The fifth Israeli-Lebanese war, the third war between Hezbollah and Israel on Lebanese soil, or the war in support of Gaza, are all designations which do not do justice to the massacre that is finishing off Lebanon while the world watches. This massacre will go down in history as the ‘unnecessary war’. The ‘unnecessary war’ because Lebanon is already drained dry, has reached the end of a hellish cycle of cataclysms and has had its share of bankruptcies, explosions, disintegration, and above all, contempt. An ‘unnecessary war’ because Lebanon has been at war for too long (since 1975, or 1969 or even 1958, some would say). An ‘unnecessary war’ because it could have been avoided, had Hezbollah not decided to drag Lebanon into the arrogant path of supporting Gaza. Or, for those who do not situate the beginnings on Oct. 7,...