Last night, Wednesday June 26, an Israeli air raid targeted the town of Nabatieh in South Lebanon, completely destroying a two-story building, injuring five citizens, leaving 14 others panicked and suffocated, and damaging surrounding buildings.
Today, Thursday June 27, an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in western Bekaa, killing one person. Around the same time, Israeli warplanes raided the southern town of Aitaroun.
International Concerns
Kuwait, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada have joined many other countries in calling their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, as concerns of an all-out war have been at an all-time high.
Concurrently, the ministry of foreign affairs in France expressed its heightened fears of the precarity of the situation in Lebanon.
As a ceasefire in Gaza remains far from attainment, matters in Lebanon look increasingly grim as Israeli leaders continue their policy of military escalation, raising stakes and taking matters beyond containment.
Concerningly, the United States showcased its support for an Israeli military operation in Lebanon. While US aid has continued entering Israel since October 7, reaching a cumulative 6.5 billion USD, American officials have increasingly adopted a strict tone when communicating with Israeli officials due to strategic disagreements.
The American expression of support for a military operation in Lebanon represents a dangerous turn in discourse, despite purported calls for the pursuit of diplomatic solutions with Lebanon from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Continued Brinkmanship
The Telegraph’s article last week, suggesting Hezbollah’s smuggling of arms in and out the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, has raised concerns across the country as it discursively legitimized a potential Israeli strike on the country’s only functional airport.
Lebanese officials quickly made sure to show international audiences that the article’s statements are far from true. Minister of Public Affairs, Ali Hamieh, organized a tour of the airport, open for foreign media and diplomats.
Alongside Israeli leaders’ continued strategy of brinkmanship, Western mainstream media narratives and the support of some Western governments to Israel continue to increase tensions and risks of all-out war in Lebanon.