Invasion of Lebanon

Emboldened by the successes against Hezbollah, Israel seems to have made up its mind for a full-fledged invasion of Lebanon. This will be the third time in the last four decades that the Jewish state will be marching south in an Arab state, which itself sits at the brink of disaster and marginalisation. This daredevil move hints at the collateral damage that the command and control infrastructure of Hezbollah had received, with the subsequent killing of its leadership including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. With little tactical maneuvering at hand, as Hezbollah will take time to regroup, Israel has intentionally rolled down its ground forces on Lebanese soil, followed by weeks of airstrikes and reconnaissance operations. Reports say more than 100 people were killed and scores injured as Israeli military forces swung into action in the southern regions, Bekaa Valley and Beirut.

This escalation will have a spillover effect, and it won't be a walkover for the Zionist state. The capitulation of the Lebanese Army, as it had retreated in the last two days, is no surprise as the guard was held by Hezbollah since it pushed back Israel in 2006. But with chips down for Hezbollah, the region is set for a long-drawn war. An immediate casualty of this Israeli adventure in Lebanon are the people of Gaza who are once again under bombardment with no recourse to a sigh of relief. Last but not least, Iran's thrust to take the institutional route by knocking at the doors of the UN and galvanising diplomatic muscles will come as a time buying tool for Israel, which knows no limits of barbarism and bloodshed.

The Israeli thrust inside Lebanon rings alarming bells for Syria too, and is a precursor to the widening of the conflict. The question is: is there no mechanism at work diplomatically or militarily to stop the genocidal advancement of Israel? How can the territorial violation of Lebanon, a sovereign state, be taken for granted merely because Israel is in a conflict with a non-state actor, Hezbollah? Time to take a stance and stop Israel before it gets too late.