LONDON: As Israeli military operations against Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon drive more than a million civilians from their homes, kill over 1,000 people in less than three weeks, and flatten entire residential blocks with no ceasefire in sight, many are holding their breath in fear as the devastation traces a familiar path — Gaza.
While Israeli attacks on Lebanon have not stopped despite a fragile ceasefire in effect since November 2024, a March 2 Hezbollah strike on Haifa and other targets — reportedly the Iran-backed group’s first offensive action in 15 months — triggered a sharp escalation.
Hezbollah said it launched the strikes in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, that kicked off a joint Israeli-US military campaign against Iran that began on Feb. 28.
The outbreak of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is reshaping daily life in southern Lebanon. Families are sleeping in cars, schools have turned into overcrowded shelters and entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble.
The human toll is mounting as well: as of March 21, Israeli attacks had killed 1,024 people, injured 2,740 and displaced about 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.
