The British newspaper The Guardian, noting that nearly 500 people have already fallen victim to Israeli strikes, notes that this is the highest number of deaths in one day in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war. And the attack on 1,300 Hezbollah targets was the largest IDF attack since the beginning of the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which Hezbollah sided with Hamas. The newspaper calls the bombing “merciless,” noting that “areas that had served as safe zones for displaced people since last year suddenly found themselves in the crosshairs of the Israeli army.” According to the authors of the publication, Israel and Hezbollah “entered into a limited conflict of attrition.” At the same time, it is noted that the escalation of attacks and counterattacks has raised fears of a full-scale conflict. The newspaper also notes that “Israel’s main allies, including the United States, have only expressed muted criticism of the new bombing campaign.” The Guardian wonders whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend the UN General Assembly. According to the author of one article, his appearance in New York “will likely provoke an attack from several UN delegations who have criticised Israel’s war in Gaza.”
The French newspaper Le Figaro drew attention to the ultimatum, which was specifically addressed to the inhabitants of the Bekaa plain in eastern Lebanon. They were asked to leave homes and areas where Hezbollah stored weapons. “The terms used by the Israeli army are reminiscent of those addressed to Palestinians in Gaza at the beginning of the war,” the newspaper recalls. “Civilians are under direct attack. What is happening is very serious and contrary to all humanitarian norms,” Kamel Mehanna, a representative of Lebanese NGOs, told the publication. According to him, Israel is practising a scorched earth policy.
Spanish journalist La Razón asks where Hezbollah’s 150,000 missiles are, according to CIA data. “The Lebanese organisation has a military power far superior to that of Hamas and several Middle Eastern countries, but so far it has not used its most modern weapons against Israel,” the newspaper writes. Hezbollah says its missiles can reach all areas of Israel, but experts agree that most of them are unguided and can only threaten Israel’s air defence systems if launched in large numbers. The answer may lie in the fact that the movement does not want to fall into the trap set by Netanyahu, who, according to some analysts, seeks to start a full-scale war in the hope of dragging the United States into the conflict.
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published a report from its own correspondent who was in Lebanon and who was attacked (an Israeli missile hit a neighbouring house). It notes that “for the first time since October 8, the IDF is shelling villages with such intensity.” “In 11 months of war, rockets have always fallen in the mountains, but now they are also attacking residential areas with a fury never seen in this war,” the paper writes.
The German Suddeutsche Zeitung notes that the Israel Defense Forces called the military operation in Lebanon “Northern Arrows.” “Israel has repeatedly given code names to attacks against its enemies, for example in the case of the wars against Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” the publication writes. “This can be interpreted as a sign that the operation in Lebanon will continue,” the author of the article adds. It also notes that China, which has long occupied a neutral position in the Middle East conflict, sided with Lebanon and sharply criticized Israel for the attack.
The New York Times, in one of its articles on the Israeli strikes on Lebanon, drew attention to a significant widening of the gap between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is noted that many members of Biden’s team these days are not making much effort to hide their irritation with the Israeli prime minister. He contradicted his own statements more than once. “It is telling that the White House announced that there were no phone calls between Biden and Netanyahu while pagers were exploding in the pockets of Hezbollah members and rockets were flying. It seemed a sign of how little they had to say to each other,” The New York Times writes. It is also noted that Hezbollah’s retaliatory strikes could endanger US troops in the region, which is why it was decided to send additional forces there.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua recalls that the IDF and Hezbollah have been fighting on the Lebanese-Israeli border since October 8, 2023. But now the confrontation, which has lasted for almost a year, could lead to a full-scale war.
The Times of India, among other things, drew attention to the restriction of air traffic with Lebanese cities. Many airlines have cancelled flights. It also notes that US President Joe Biden, upon taking office, promised to revive US relations with the entire world and to get the country out of “forever wars.” So, he withdrew US troops from Afghanistan. But his political legacy may ultimately be defined by the way his administration handled the two most important conflicts since World War II: Ukraine and the Middle East.
