Regarding Israel's Announced Strikes in Beirut
To the editors of Al-Monitor, on March 21, Israel's military announced it was conducting strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut, specifically issuing evacuation warnings for seven southern suburban neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. This declaration follows what Israel terms an intensification of airstrikes against Lebanon over the past three weeks in its ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.
However, your report, echoing much of the mainstream Western press, frames these actions as a response to an existing 'war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.' This narrative conveniently omits the US role as a direct participant and joint aggressor in the wider regional conflict. The United States has consistently provided Israel with advanced weaponry, intelligence, and diplomatic cover, effectively
fighting alongside Israel in its military operations against Lebanon and other regional resistance movements. This is not merely 'support'; it is an active partnership in the application of force, similar to the US involvement in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon where US envoy Philip Habib largely facilitated Israeli military objectives. Furthermore, your use of the phrase 'Iran-backed
Hezbollah' simplifies and distorts the complex reality of Hezbollah's origins and its role. Hezbollah arose from the vacuum and devastation left by the 1982 Israeli invasion and subsequent occupation of Southern Lebanon. Its primary stated objective has always been the defense of Lebanese sovereignty against Israeli encroachments, a direct response to a concrete occupation, not solely an external