Up to a million people in Lebanon could be displaced by Israeli attacks, according to acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Mikati said in Beirut that this is already the largest number of displaced people in the country’s history. In the current conflict with Israel there can only be a diplomatic solution: “There is no choice for us as diplomacy.”
According to the UN, more than 210,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since new clashes between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia began, including around 120,000 in the past week alone. According to the United Nations, the number could be significantly higher, also based on the experience of the previous war with Israel in 2006.
Great fear of further attacks
Many people also sleep in parks, on the street or on the beach for fear of further attacks, for example in the south, east or in the vicinity of the capital Beirut. 50,000 Syrians and Lebanese have also fled to neighboring civil war-torn Syria.
After the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, the Lebanese army warns of new conflicts within Lebanon. “The army leadership calls on all citizens to preserve national unity and not be drawn into actions that endanger civil peace in this dangerous and sensitive period in the history of our country,” the army said on Sunday. With its attacks, Israel is trying to carry out destructive plans and increase divisions among the Lebanese.
Consequences of Nasrallah’s murder unclear
It is unclear what consequences Nasrallah’s assassination will have for Lebanon. In the areas it controls, Hezbollah acts like its own state, providing infrastructure, health facilities, schools and youth programs. It is also an influential political party and provides ministers. It behaves like a state within a state. According to surveys, about 30 percent of the population supports them, but relatively few people in the country support them, so the majority rejects Hezbollah.
Long crisis in Lebanon
Even before the latest escalation with Israel, Lebanon, with its six million inhabitants, was already in its deepest economic and political crisis since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990, which killed an estimated 150,000 people. The proportional system between the former opponents of the civil war, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, ultimately led to paralysis. Years ago, the country was mired in debt and the currency was in free fall.
The explosion disaster in the capital Beirut on August 4, 2020, which killed around 200 people, injured around 6,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless, sparked mass protests against the government, which eventually resigned. A new government was long overdue; she serves only in an executive capacity. The office of president is vacant. Lebanon also hosts approximately 1.5 million refugees from Syria.
War between Israel and Lebanon in 2006
The last war between Israel and Lebanon took place in 2006. The reason for this was the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in the Shebaa Farms region by Hezbollah. The area of 30 square kilometers on the border of Syria, Lebanon and Israel has long been under discussion.
The head of the Maronite Church in Lebanon called on the world community to break the “cycle of war, killings and destruction” in Lebanon. “The death of (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah has opened a wound in the hearts of the Lebanese,” Maronite Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï said in his Sunday sermon. The international community must work seriously to create a “just peace” in Lebanon with rights for all people in the region.
In the deeply divided country, an estimated 70 percent of the population is Muslim, with roughly equal numbers of Shiite and Sunni followers of Islam. About 30 percent are Christians. More than half of them are Maronites.
State structures must be strengthened
According to economist Alia Mubajid, state structures in Lebanon urgently need to be strengthened after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. “Only state building will save Lebanon,” she wrote on Sunday on X. She has been working on economic issues in the Middle East for banks and governments for 25 years.
The speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, a Shiite, should also allow parliament to convene to elect a new president, Mubajid wrote. Due to a dispute over the succession, the country has been without a head of state for two years. In addition, the government should declare a state of emergency, station the army nationwide, mobilize donations to support the many displaced people and prepare a plan to improve the economic situation, Mubajid wrote.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
