By Jean-Michael Yahya
Lebanon has been under Israeli fire since 8 October 2023. What many would describe as two phased war between Israel and Hezbollah, is in fact one continuous colonial war on the entirety of Lebanon and the people living on its lands. The ‘first’ phase began on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched attacks toward Israeli occupied territory in the Shebaa Farms area, after which Israeli attacks escalated.
On 27 November 2024, a ceasefire arrangement supposedly entered into force. By then, Israel had already killed over 4,000 people including Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah. Lebanon cooperated with the process, including deploying the army south of the strategic Litani River. Nevertheless, Israel maintained its occupation inside the South and continued near-daily air and ground violations. By 2 March 2026, Israel had breached the ceasefire over 15,000 times, a world record, killing 397 people and wounding 1,102, many of them children. Some 1,3 million people were forcibly displaced, eking out a living in makeshift camps, schools, and the national football stadium. Moreover, Israel’s war was not only against the people, but also against their livelihoods, deliberately robbing them of any prospect of returning to their towns and land.
JOURNALISTS TARGETED
“Israelis do not respect journalists’ rights; a critical journalist has essentially become a fighter to them”, Zeinab Farraj told Guy Smallman in an interview in June this year. Amal Khalil, a reporter for Al Akhbar news died when her car was attacked by Israeli forces and rescuers were prevented from reaching the building where she had taken refuge for four hours. Amal knew she was under surveillance and risking death, Zeinab said. In 2024 she received a WhatsApp message from an Israeli number saying:
“Your head will be separated from your shoulders if you continue reporting”
>> Read more at https://guysmallman.substack.com
Israel’s obliteration of life in Gaza expanded to Lebanon in areas under their control — destroying homes, farms and in numerous instances erasing entire villages. Over 10,800 hectares of agricultural land and forests were set alight or poisoned, often using white phosphorus bombs and pesticides that trace back to BAYER in Germany.
During the ‘ceasefire’ in November, Israel repeatedly attacked machinery used for reconstruction, maintenance facilities, industrial plants and municipal infrastructure. These attacks endangered contractors, workers, engineers and local officials involved in
rebuilding efforts. Medical personnel, journalists, first responders, teachers, individuals transporting food and aid, and educational and healthcare facilities were not spared either.
Entire sections of border villages were destroyed. More than 11,000 buildings were destroyed and nearly 18,000 housing units were damaged across southern Lebanon. Taken together, these attacks underline Israel’s intent to wage war on all the material conditions that preserve life and make a return possible.
Following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the war launched on Iran by the US and Israel on 28 February 2026, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on 2 March. The Lebanese government has condemned this move, declaring Hezbollah’s military and security activities illegal. For months, the government’s response to Israeli violations had largely been rhetorical and diplomatic.
Between 4 and 5 March, Israel issued evacuation orders covering all of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River and the southern suburb of Beirut, Dahiyeh. This triggered another massive wave of migration, with over a million people fleeing and seeking shelter once again. Just a few hours after the announcement from Islamabad, and within 10 minutes of the ceasefire coming into effect, Israel launched over 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in an operation cynically dubbed ‘Operation Eternal Darkness’, killing at least 357 people and wounding over 1,200. While Israel claimed to have killed at least 250 ‘Hezbollah operatives’, Lebanese authorities confirmed that all the victims were non-militant
BRITAIN’S ROLE
Israel uses F-35 fighter jets in its attacks on Lebanon. Britain’s involvement in the F-35 fighter jet programme is substantial.
The government’s Strategic Defence Review states that approximately 15% of the value of each F-35 aircraft is produced in the UK
What you can do:
- Pass a model motion in your union branch, see our Lebanon toolkit for more
