Israel's War on Lebanon Goes Beyond Hezbollah and That Is Why US-Iran Peace Talks Are on Shaky Ground
While the whole world anxiously awaits a final peace deal between the United States and Iran amid staggered negotiations, occasional tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes and threats and counter threats, a far more complex dynamic of war and peace is unfolding in Lebanon.
Israel’s escalating military operations in Lebanon, thanks to Benjamin Netanyahu’s substantial appetite for war and occupation, have previously forced Iran to suspend negotiations with the US. The latest fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces is a consequence of the unprovoked joint US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, 2026. Israel launched a full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah’s attack on northern Israel, on March 2, aimed to express solidarity with Iran.
However, the complexity of the Lebanese situation and position operates at various levels. First, Israel has now embarked upon the occupation of southern Lebanon for the second time in just over two-and-a-half decades to create a so-called security zone or a Gaza model “yellow line”, stretching from the south of the Litani River to the Israel-Lebanon border. This, it says, is to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israeli towns.
As against this declared objective, Israel’s air strikes and ground operations have been targeting east and south Lebanon as well. The IDF has carried out attacks as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut and crossed the Litani River beyond the “security zone”, moving further north till the Zahrani River. After intense fighting with Hezbollah, the Israeli forces even captured the strategically important 12th century Crusader-built Beaufort castle near Nabatiyeh. The castle overlooks both Litani and the Galilee in Israel.
FILE: Litani River as it flows through the village of Saghbin, Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, June 20, 2021. The UN position is that Photo: AP/Hassan Ammar
Israel’s continuing military operations are highly disproportionate to its stated objectives and violate the US-mediated April 17, 2026 ceasefire, in which halting attacks on Lebanon are part of the larger ceasefire framework between the US-Israel and Iran. Israeli forces now occupy nearly one-fifth of Lebanese territory.
Its attacks have resulted in around 3,000 casualties, including among children, and the displacement of nearly 1.2 million [12 lakh] people on the Lebanese side. Israeli forces have occupied around 55 villages and towns. Israel is in the process of depopulating much of the areas that it has been attacking, by forcing civilian residents to leave.
Israel has the right to defend its citizens from Hezbollah attacks and, given its superior military power, with highly advanced weaponry and intelligence gathering mechanisms, it can do so from the international border. Why, then, is it seeking occupation of Lebanese territory? The answer lies in Netanyahu’s long-term strategic objectives and short-term political ambitions.
Also read: How Donald Trump is Fighting Israel’s War Against Iran
Strategically, occupying more and more Arab land is part of the “Greater Israel “project, which the extreme right wing forces in Israel are determined to pursue. Israel’s military operations in southern Syria need to be viewed from this perspective. The occupied Syrian Golan Heights have already been annexed. Thus, the Northern Arc , covering a swath of territory from southern Lebanon to southern Syria along the Israeli border may become fertile land for future Jewish settlements.
Politically, Netanyahu wants to face the imminent election in Israel with some concrete military achievements, after his total failure on the Iran front. A majority of Israelis (57%) think that Israel has not achieved any major victory in any front since October 7, 2023, the day the current round of attacks on Palestinian territories began following a Hamas strike. There is growing public skepticism about Israel’s multiple wars, which it is waging all at the same time. Netanyahu is also facing grave corruption charges. Hence the focus on Lebanon is the “best” option.
Further, even while causing death and destruction in Lebanon on a daily basis, Israel is engaged in so-called peace and security talks with the country, again facilitated by the US. Even though Israel and Lebanon are officially at war since 1948, President Joseph Aoun justified negotiations with Israel, arguing that “Israel might want to do in southern Lebanon what it did in Gaza”. Ironically, Israel is doing exactly the same by pushing its forces much deeper into Lebanese territory despite three rounds of talks in Washington.
Also read: 'No One Understands Our Pain': Inside Lebanon Where the Displaced Still Await Political Pathway
The talks are aimed at permanently ending the conflict, including disarming of Hezbollah. There is no breakthrough as yet. Hezbollah, which strongly opposes the direct talks, is not part of the negotiations.
Third, Hezbollah is a legitimate player in Lebanon’s political process. Lebanon has a fractured polity, governed by Consociational democracy, anchored on a unique proportional sectarian representation system that maintains a very delicate balance of power among various religious groups and sects, particularly Christians, Sunnis and Shias.
Lebanese displaced people who fled their villages in south Lebanon, stand outside their tents at an alley in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Photo: AP/Mohammed Zaatari
Hezbollah, the main voice of the underprivileged Shia community, played a decisive role in the country’s government and politics under the leadership of Hassan Nasarallah until his assassination by Israel in September 2024. Many believed that Hezbollah had been totally decimated and it would not be in a position to challenge Israel under the new leader, Naim Quassem.
Such an assessment proved erroneous as it failed to factor the raison d’etre of Hezbollah’s military operations against Israel. Hezbollah exists as a consequence of Israeli occupation, not a cause. It is the product of the 1982 Israeli invasion of the country. For Western analysts, Hezbollah represents just an organization of the Shite people. They are mistaken – it represents a powerful idea – of relentless resistance against foreign occupation. On this, Hezbollah is strategically aligned with Iran, and Iran with it. Under international law, Hezbollah has the right to armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
Therefore, to ignore Hezbollah’s concerns and continue holding talks with Israel under American pressure may disturb the Lebanese national consensus and create a power imbalance that could plunge Lebanon in to another bloody civil war. Hezbollah has warned: “There will be no disarmament of the resistance and no one in Lebanon or abroad will be able to disarm it.” In fact, Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory has enhanced Hezbollah’s credibility, even while putting the ongoing US-Iran negotiations in jeopardy.
Many believe that Netanyahu, with tacit approval from Trump, launched a full-scale war on Lebanon not only to increase Israel’s battlefield leverage but also to derail the US-Iran talks, knowing very well the Iranian stand on Hezbollah. This is exactly what has happened.
Banshidhar Pradhan was Professor at Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU.
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