Tensions are high in Lebanon ahead of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's speech expected on Friday. Many Lebanese fear that the organization will drag their country into war with Israel. They look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip and express great concern about the opening of another front that will lead to the destruction and destruction of the Lebanese state.
IDF attack in Lebanon, photographed from inside Lebanon
This concern is shared by citizens, media and intellectuals, and social and political activists. As the days passed with the intensification of the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the existence of a limited confrontation on the northern border, voices within Lebanon opposed a security escalation in their territory increased, in what became a broad campaign designed to dissuade Nasrallah from bringing Lebanon into a military campaign.
"Don't involve us in this, this is not our war. We don't want to wage war for Hamas and Iran," Lebanese residents said in messages posted on social media.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah (archive), photo: AP
Smoke on the Lebanese border, photo: AFP
Nasrallah's dilemma
"Hezbollah is in a real crisis," said activist Salim Amer. "If he participates in the war, it will cause the destruction of Lebanon. But if he does not participate, he will decide his own fate because his existence as a fighting party will end, and he will become a band of militants who rule Lebanon by force."
Another operative, Abu Malham, warned Hezbollah against joining the campaign. "If there is a war, it will lead to the destruction of Lebanon, Palestine will not be liberated, and therefore, Hezbollah will not have the right to exist later."
At the same time, some ridiculed a video distributed by Nasrallah earlier this week in which he hinted at his intention to speak soon, saying: "Shame on you, you already have white hair. Leave all the movements, footage and action to the TikTok people."
Others warned of a new wave of refugee migration out of Lebanon. According to reports, some have already left the southern parts of the country for fear that the war will reach them as well, while others have decided to leave Lebanon until anger passes.
Internal challenges alongside genuine fear of Israel
Lebanon, even so, is in the midst of an economic, social and political crisis – one of the worst the country has known since its establishment. The economy collapsed, inflation soared hundreds of percent, and political chaos hit it hard. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons who fled the civil war in Syria, which has weighed on the economy, exacerbated unemployment and contributed to social instability. And that's before we even mentioned the several hundred thousand Palestinians who live in some 12 refugee camps in Lebanon, and who are perceived by the Lebanese authorities as an economic and security burden of sorts.
Defense Minister Galant: "Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, we are charging it a heavy price" // Elad Malka
In Lebanese society, some blame Hezbollah for the collapse of the country's systems, and residents say that despite their identification with the Palestinian issue, the last thing they need now is a military confrontation with Israel.
The threats made by Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who warned that "Lebanon will be returned to the Stone Age if Nasrallah makes a mistake" did not fall on deaf ears in the Lebanese public, where the statements coming from Israel are taken seriously and know its power and power. The citizens of Israel from the north certainly do not forget the heavy price they paid in 2006, when the Second Lebanon War broke out, and want to prevent a recurrence of a similar scenario.
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