Israeli forces appear poised to launch a ground invasion of
Lebanon following a sustained bombing campaign that has killed more than a
thousand people—including dozens of children—and displaced more than a million,
heightening fears of a large-scale humanitarian disaster and a wider war that
could engulf the entire region.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has already
carried out what were described as "limited ground incursions"
across the Lebanese border, but a larger invasion could be imminent given the
positioning of Israeli troops and rhetoric from top Israeli officials.
"We will use all the means that may be required—your
forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land," Israeli
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli troops on Monday.
The mayor of a Christian-majority Lebanese village located
roughly six miles from the Lebanon-Israel border told Reuters that
locals "had received calls apparently from the Israeli army telling them
to evacuate the area as soon as possible."
Humanitarian groups have warned that a full-scale ground
invasion would be a disaster for the Lebanese people, many of whom have seen
their lives upended by Israeli attacks over the past two weeks.
"We are gravely concerned about the possibility of an
Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon," said Julie Mehigan,
Christian Aid's head of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. "The patterns
we're seeing from the attacks of the last few days are reminiscent of what
we've seen in Gaza these last few months. Massive displacement and
killing of civilians, whole families killed in their homes, and schools
converted into shelters. All the while Gaza is continually being bombed from
land, air, and sea."
"We are on the precipice of yet another humanitarian
calamity in the region," Mehigan added.
The Biden administration, which provided the 2,000
pound bombs that Israel used to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and
dozens of civilians in an attack on Beirut late Friday, is reportedly
prepared to give Israel approval to move troops into Lebanon as long as
the invasion is "limited."
But the Israeli government, headed by far-right Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly disregarded the Biden administration's
stated conditions.
As The New York Times observed Monday, the
administration wanted the Israeli military to "eschew major combat
operations" in the southern Gaza city of Rafah earlier this year. The IDF
went on to launch a massive assault on the city, rendering it
uninhabitable.
Akbar Shahid Ahmed, HuffPost's senior diplomatic
correspondent, reported Monday that the Biden administration is unlikely to
"veto" Israeli plans for a ground invasion of Lebanon and noted he is
hearing a "growing sense" that "an Israeli invasion of Lebanon
with US backing (based on the idea it will be limited) is coming."
The possibility of an imminent Israeli ground invasion of
Lebanon has heightened concerns of a full-blown regional war with potentially
devastating global implications.
Hezbollah has pledged to retaliate against Israel for the
assassination of Nasrallah, and Iran—which has thus far acted with
restraint —could also decide to intervene as Lebanon's
government works to prevent the military conflict from spiraling.
Craig
Mokhiber, a human rights attorney and former director of the New York office of
the UN high commissioner for human rights, wrote on social media
Monday that as Israel continues its genocide in Palestine, expands its
murderous rampage into Lebanon (perhaps even launching a ground invasion to
ethnically cleanse the south) the West cheers and arms them, Arab governments
sleep, the UN looks the other way, the [International Criminal Court] stalls,
the Global South offers only symbolic objections, and the world is dragged
passively toward WWIII.
Israel's intensifying assault on Lebanon has sparked fresh calls
for a halt to US arms transfers to the Israeli military, which relies
heavily on American-made weaponry.
Maurice Mitchell, national director of the US-based Working
Families Party, said in a statement Monday that Israel's ongoing attacks on
Lebanon "mark an extreme escalation that further threatens the stability
of the region" and expressed support for an effort led by US Sen.
Bernie Sanders to block recently approved arms sales.
"Despite the Israeli government's serious escalation in
Lebanon and indiscriminate bombings in Gaza and the West Bank, President Biden
continues to funnel billions in lethal military aid to the Israeli government
without conditions, including US$8.7 billion last week," said
Mitchell.
"This coupled with new reports that the
Israeli government violated international law by deliberately blocking
humanitarian aid to families in Gaza underscores the urgent need to stop the
flow of offensive weapons to the Israeli government.”
Abbas
Alawieh, a Lebanese American from Michigan and a co-founder of the Uncommitted
National Movement, said Monday that every hour, I get messages from my
family in Lebanon, asking when the American-funded bombs will stop.
"Not only is this administration sending more bombs
aimed at them and other civilians, they're also helping Netanyahu cover up his
crimes," said Alawieh. "It's despicable."
