The war between Israel and Hezbollah was seemingly over on the 27th of November, as the US and France were able to broker a 60 day-peace between the two forces, ending the conflict which began in October last year. Yet, weeks later, the conflict is still ongoing, with both sides threatening to terminate the ceasefire deal. Both the official state of Lebanon and the Iran-backed military group Hezbollah have accused Israel of having violated the ceasefire at least 50 times.
The accusations charged the IDF for firing on civilians, airstrikes, and the breaching of Lebanese airspace in southern Lebanon, started the day after the ceasefire. Hezbollah has since responded to these attacks with mortar shots at an IDF military base. Israel is threatening to respond “with force.” Initially, the ceasefire was seen as a breakthrough in a region embroiled in major conflict for over a year now, but tensions only seem to be getting worse.
US Air Force Major General, Patrick Ryder, stated that despite incessant violence, “broadly speaking… the ceasefire is holding.” While both sides accuse the other of breaking the ceasefire agreement, neither has officially ended it. This is a relatively positive sign, given that Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned that “if the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon… If now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”
It is obvious that the ceasefire has not been upheld by either party, and it is unlikely that it will be any time soon. Despite this, the attacks that have been occurring are nowhere near as intense as before. Further de-escalation should be the main focus for all parties. For now, as long as the genocide in Gaza continues, which appears to have no end in sight, there will not be any sustainable peace between Hezbollah and Israel. Working to uphold the ceasefire, however fragile it is, can only be a good thing when compared to the alternative.
Since its inception in response to Tel Aviv’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Hezbollah’s aims include the complete destruction of Israel. This led Washington and London to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah’s latest conflict began the day after Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7th October. Hamas is a long-time ally of Hezbollah, and this alliance looked set to intensify before the surprise ceasefire in November.
Almost 4,000 Lebanese have been killed, 13,000 have been injured, and over a million more have been displaced since the war began. On the other hand, 130 Israelis have been killed and another 60,000 have been displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks. While these numbers pale in comparison to the number of casualties in Gaza, they are still significant. Getting Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire is a great achievement. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the ceasefire is upheld and that casualty numbers continue to fall. All parties must put aside their differences and seek out opportunities for further collaboration.
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