In 2023, Israel became engaged in a conflict with the terrorist group Hezbollah. The group is based in southern Lebanon, which shares a border with Israel, and declared war on Israel shortly after the October 7th attacks in solidarity with Hamas. This conflict, and the many civilian casualties (predominantly in Lebanon) that came with it, made international headlines.
News coverage remained strong for nearly two years, but has since dissipated. This reduction of coverage has not reflected the severity of the situation. According to Time Magazine, over 17,000 people have died in the Israeli invasions of Lebanon, and the United Nations has claimed that over 900,000 people within Lebanon have also been displaced. In comparison, there have been approximately 75,000 deaths resulting from the conflict with Gaza, and 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced.
While Lebanon has not experienced as much destruction as in the Gaza Strip, it is notable that so many civilians are affected in a conflict in which their government is uninvolved. This uniquely severe situation has led to both sides being seriously questioned about the ethics of their respective endeavors.
These questions have rarely been the focus as of late, even as Israel began another invasion in late March, which has already led to the deaths of over 3,000 according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Instead, Lebanon’s impact on Iranian-American negotiations has been at the forefront of media attention – that is, the actual war has often been an afterthought.
The last article by CNN about Lebanon was published on April 16th. Since then, there has been both a ceasefire and a break in said ceasefire.
With the breaking of ceasefires, the conflict with Lebanon has since reescalated, with hundreds of airstrikes hitting Lebanon. The conflict has proven to continue a cycle of violence in the Middle East. With new peace talks scheduled in a few days, there might be an end to this bloody conflict.
