Lebanon faces brutal attacks from Israel

Israel’s assault on Lebanon saw the settler-colonial state hit 30 locations across the country’s south and in the Beqaa valley. Israel said on 16 March ‘limited’ ground operations were underway.

In theory, Hezbollah breached a US-brokered ‘ceasefire’ with Israel which had held since their last war in 2024. In practice, the US had given Israel carte blanche to strike Lebanon ever since. Israel has done so constantly since the deal was struck.

You can read about the secretive Israel-US ‘side letter’ pact here. And our extensive coverage of Israel’s ceasefire breaches here.

Lebanon hammered

Journalist Courtney Bonneau reported on 15 March:

Drop Site News said Israel used a mix of airstrikes, drones, and artillery. On 16 March, Bonneau and her cameraman showed fighting between the Israeli and resistance forces underway – alleging Israel was using chemical weapons:

Smoke was visible over the town of Khaim, roughly 6km north the the Israeli border.

Analysts told Al Jazeera on 16 March that Israel was using military occupation as a tool to enforce potential ceasefire terms:

By holding Lebanese territory, Israel is forcing Lebanon to negotiate over its sovereignty, with a question mark over whether Israeli troops will eventually withdraw or if currently occupied areas will be permanently transformed into an unpopulated buffer zone.

The Guardian’s Will Cristou reported Israel had killed three first responders on 16 March, bringing the total to 35 in the last two weeks:

Death and defiance in the south

Sky News reported that mourners in the south have defied Israeli evacuation orders to bury their dead. And France 24 reported that Israel was still hitting densely populated areas of the capital Beirut with airstrikes:

On 12 March Israel bombed the tents of displaced people who’d fled rom the south to Beirut. One observer described the scenes as:

An outrageous war crime reminiscent of the massacres carried out in Gaza.

Israel also bombed a university, killing two academics:

Reuters reported on 15 March:

Israel and Lebanon are expected to ​hold talks in the coming days aimed at securing a durable ceasefire that ‌would see Hezbollah disarmed, two Israeli officials said on Sunday, though the timing and terms have yet to be agreed.

The outlet said three sources had claimed:

Beirut is forming a delegation for talks but no date has been set. Lebanon needed clarity on whether ​Israel would abide by President Joseph Aoun’s first point — a demand for a ​full ceasefire to allow negotiations to take place.

Israel’s aggression is taking place in the context of its ongoing genocide in Gaza and now a regional war with Iran. Its ambitions in Lebanon are deeply linked with the Greater Israel project, an ethnonationalist fever-dream which subjects the region and its indigenous people to a decades-old cycle of war, occupation and extermination.

Featured image via the Canary