The Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has been threatening for months an invasion of Lebanon, which would return the country to the Stone Age in the words of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in response to continued attacks by the Shiite militia. of Hezbollah. from this country. Once again – as in Gaza with Hamas – the fight against a group which, in this case, could count – according to the most reliable estimates – some 40,000 militants, is deliberately confused with the destruction of a country of 5 .5 million residents, most of whom have no ties to or support the militia. Hezbollah is also a political party and participates in elections. In the last elections – 2022 – he obtained almost 360,000 votes, or less than 20% of the votes cast. But those who vote for him or receive welfare benefits from his movement are not guilty of any crime either. The military branch of Hezbollah, considered terrorist by the European Union, is not the Lebanese army, it only operates from there.
So far, the Democratic administration in Washington has managed to stop the invasion, which could transform the conflict into a regional conflagration, from Syria to Yemen, with the risk of dragging Iran into the war. Netanyahu cares very little; In fact, direct Iranian involvement – which would endanger Gulf hydrocarbon exports – could force the United States to intervene, which would be excellent news for Israel, which has the capacity to harass the only enemy important that remains in the world. region, but he cannot single-handedly put an end to the regime of the ayatollahs.
