Southern Lebanon flares up again between Israel and Hezbollah
Israeli airstrikes on around 150 Hezbollah-linked positions left at least ten dead, including three Lebanese soldiers.
The truce holding southern Lebanon together has cracked again. Israel carried out airstrikes on around 150 positions it says are linked to Hezbollah, in a day that ended with at least ten dead, among them three Lebanese soldiers.
It is exactly the kind of incident that keeps analysts on edge: each strike of this size tests a ceasefire that was never solid. Israel says it is hitting military infrastructure; Beirut answers that the country’s sovereignty is being trampled and that military casualties change the nature of the confrontation.
A balance always hanging by a thread
Southern Lebanon is one of those maps where a single spark can set the region alight. The Lebanese army is trying to assert itself as the sole authority on the ground, but remains squeezed between Israeli pressure and Hezbollah’s presence. When regular soldiers die in strikes, the government in Beirut is left in an almost impossible spot.
For Europe, and for the Portuguese community living and working in the region, the risk is the familiar one: an escalation that drags in neighbours, complicates routes and pushes people back into exile. International diplomacy is calling for restraint, but words have counted for little against the facts on the ground.
See also: the framework agreement announced between Israel and Lebanon. The UN mission in the country is described at unifil.unmissions.org.
Image: Eli+ 00:28, 15 January 2012 (UTC) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
