Michal Kranz
Unherd, Oct. 9, 2024
“It’s already clear that Lebanon’s old political order is dead and buried.”
Over the last fortnight, everything has changed in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which had dominated the country’s politics for more than 20 years, has seen its leadership decapitated, its arsenal diminished, its anti-Zionist credentials tarnished.
All the while, its civilian base, huddled among the dense, majority-Shi’a cityscapes of South Beirut, the rolling hills of southern Lebanon, and the farmlands of the Beqaa, has borne the brunt of Israel’s assault.
Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s leader, a man who’d formerly enjoyed cult status across the Arab world, is dead. Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s presumed successor, is likely gone as well.
Hezbollah is far from finished. It has continued to fire hundreds of rockets, and at times even ballistic missiles, towards Israel on a daily basis over recent weeks. In Lebanon’s south, its guerrilla forces have reportedly repelled Israeli advances, claiming to have killed dozens of troops and destroyed multiple Israeli Merkava tanks. And if Hamas has been able to endure a year of war with Israel in the tiny Gaza Strip, the expansive Shi’a militia will surely endure too.
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