Hezbollah, Israeli plans in Lebanon, regional developments: Ask our co-editor-in-chief Anthony Samrani

Many believed — or at least hoped — that Hezbollah would keep a low profile, limiting itself to verbal support for Iran and avoiding actions that could drag Lebanon into cannot endure.

But on the night of March 1–2, Hezbollah directly entered the war between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. and Israel, which began on Feb. 28, by launching a salvo of rockets toward Israel.

The response was swift. Although Israeli attacks had never truly stopped since a cease-fire agreement on Nov. 27, 2024, southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs are once again facing intense bombardments that have already killed more than 50 people and displaced some 30,000.

Hezbollah’s move may have also accelerated Israeli plans in Lebanon. On Tuesday, Tel Aviv announced the creation of a “buffer zone” in the South and reinforced ground deployments at strategic points in the region. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Cabinet decided to outlaw Hezbollah’s military and security activities, ordering the army and other legal forces to act immediately — including by force if necessary — to disarm the militia.

Is this response enough? What are Israel’s military ambitions in Lebanon? Why would Hezbollah, already weakened, undertake such a risky operation? And how might regional powers react, as Riyadh and Abu Dhabi consider responding to Iranian attacks?

Countless questions arise in the current context.

Subscribers can submit their questions to our co-editor-in-chief, Anthony Samrani, in the comments section of this article or by email at livechatolj@lorientlejour.com.👈

He will answer them all here on Wednesday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m., Lebanon time👈

Stay tuned. And ask all your questions.