T
he Middle East has become a monstrous laboratory for 21st-century warfare, where tactics tested in one targeted territory are, in the absence of an international response, later replicated on a larger scale elsewhere. This pattern is clear in how Vladimir Putin's Russia experimented with terror tactics in Syria, starting in September 2015, before deploying them against Ukraine following the full-scale invasion of February 2022.
This is also how Israel, under Benjamin Netanyahu, has subjected Lebanon to the same systematic violations of international law that have been perpetrated in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Israel's impunity in Gaza can only encourage it to be just as ruthless in Lebanon.
The Israeli army claims a "humanitarian" approach in both Gaza and Lebanon by publicly warning civilians before bombing a given area. But these so-called "evacuation orders" are aptly named, as they essentially expel residents from the designated zone, giving them very little time to make life-or-death decisions for themselves and their loved ones, with no guarantee for the safety of any property left behind. Moreover, the evacuation routes specified by Israeli spokespeople are often unclear. In some cases they have been struck by Israeli fire themselves.
