As Israel now sends troops to Gaza, they have opened a new front in the war with their northern neighbour of Lebanon. At least two people have been killed in an attack by the Zionist regime in Southern Lebanon.¹ According to the first responders and local media, amid growing concerns that the Israeli-Hamas war could spread beyond Gaza.² Two people were killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Ainata on Monday, according to first responder organizations affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement and Lebanese state media.³ It was not immediately clear if those killed were civilians or militants.⁴ The Israeli military stated earlier that “Terrorists fired towards several locations in northern Israel”.⁵ The army said its artillery struck the source of the fire and hit posts which “terrorists fired towards several locations in northern Israel”. ^{6 (Al Jazeera)}

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) went on to say that its artillery struck the source of fire and hit posts which “terrorists fired towards several locations in northern Israel”.⁷ In a separate attack, Israeli forces shelled media teams and journalists in the Lebanese border village of Yaroun, official Lebanese news agency NNA reported.⁸ Issam Mawasi, an Al Jazeera cameraman, was injured in the shelling that had taken place, and the news network’s broadcast vehicle was damaged.⁹ Separately, the Israeli Electric Corporation said an employee died on Monday after being wounded in a missile attack carried out the previous day by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.¹⁰ Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces from its stronghold in southern Lebanon after Israel launched an assault on Gaza last month which was in response to an attack by Hamas on southern Israel.^{11  (Al Jazeera)}

The forces that carry out the Zionist regime’s dirty work would have us believe that it was under attack by Hezbollah forces based from inside Lebanon. Whereas this may be true the Israelis themselves are not entirely innocent of blame. The attacks on the news media teams and journalists in the Lebanese border village known as Yaroun does raise eyebrows. Why would they need to attack this village? Was it because the journalists found out something about the Israelis’ war in Gaza or their (the Israelis’) deployment of missiles on Lebanese territory? The injury done to the Al Jazeera Cameraman and the damage done to the News Agency’s vehicle should be enough to make Al Jazeera sue the IDF for damages. But then again IDF still haven’t got back to the broadcaster over the murder of Palestinian Journalist Shereen Abu Akleh.  

There is of course the fear that the war in Gaza, could escalate and destabilize the immediate area around Israel. Israel has the largest (and so far, only) nuclear arsenal in the Middle East. Under unpredictable Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu this could cause the war become deadly.

This week around 50,000 people joined the exodus from the north of the besieged enclave of Gaza in the North to the South, many of them walking – echoing (Daoud Muhammad) Naser’s footsteps 75 years ago.¹² “They are all walking towards an unknown faith, just like we did,” Naser said.¹³ “This is like the Nakhba all over again.”¹⁴ The founding of the Jewish state in 1948 is remembered by Palestinians as the Nakhba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic – the moment that more than half the population lost their homes and land, as well as their way of life.¹⁵ It is an enduring and permanent trauma for generations of Palestinians, their collective memories melded into one gaping wound.⁴ Naser went on to say, ‘This was all supposed to be temporary. We never thought we would be here for 75 years’.^{16 (Financial Times)}

The havoc caused by the continued bombing by the Israelis has led to the Palestinians in Gaza becoming disillusioned. The Palestinians are fighting not just for their freedom but their very survival as a people. The Israelis have become more relentless unaware they are pushing a desperate people to the edge. If there is to be a negotiated peace settlement than neither Netanyahu on the Israeli side nor President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be in the best position to negotiate a settlement. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis need to choose new leaders. However, on the Israeli side this is easier said than done and on the Palestinian side Abbas has continued to postpone presidential elections. If Abbas actually held the election, he would certainly lose an outright majority. He lacks the charisma and character of his predecessor Yasser Arafat.   

It’s only a matter of time depending on how the international community responds. Israel is still armed with nuclear weapons, so what happens when the war escalates?

Sources

Al Jazeera

At least two killed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon as tensions soar

At least two people have been killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, according to first responders and local media, amid growing…^{1 2  3 4 5 6 7 8  9 10 11}

Financial Times

‘Walking to an unknown fate’: Gaza war reopens old wounds for Lebanon’s Palestinians

Conflict is latest in 75 years of trauma for Palestinians, many of whom remain stateless.^{12 13 14 15 16}