As most eyes stay trained on Iran, another front is presenting a crucial challenge to Middle East regional stability: Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon and the status of Hezbollah, Iran’s decades-long proxy partner.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces were destroying crossings over the Litani River in Lebanon’s south, claiming that they were being used by Hezbollah to send reinforcements. The Qasmiyeh Bridge, destroyed by the Israeli military on Sunday, is a main route linking the south to central Lebanon near the coastal city of Tyre.
This critical infrastructure, belonging to the Lebanese state, is used by its civilian population. Another minister in Israel’s government, the right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, this week called for Israel to annex southern Lebanon and extend Israel’s border.
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معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) هو منظمة تعليمية مستقلة وغير حزبية وغير ربحية. لا يشارك المعهد في أي أنشطة دعوية، وآراء الباحثين فيه تعبر عن آرائهم الشخصية. يرحب المعهد بالتبرعات المالية، لكنه يحتفظ بالسيطرة التحريرية الكاملة على أعماله، ولا تعكس منشوراته سوى آراء المؤلفين. للاطلاع على قائمة المتبرعين للمعهد، يرجى النقر هنا.
Achieving a Permanent End to the Israel-Lebanon Conflict
