The past year has seen the unfolding of a devastating war in Gaza, with ramifications across the Middle East. As the war approaches the start of its second year, events in Lebanon risk the eruption of an even deadlier regional war. These present ramifications, both in the Middle East and on Grounds, may be consequential, significantly raising the temperature of an already-burning situation.
This conflict originates farther back than can be adequately accounted for in this article, but certain historical events are important to cover for the purpose of introducing the situation. The following summary of events comes from an excellent debrief by the Washington Post. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Palestinian refugees who fled to Lebanon established a large community, fertile ground for recruitment by the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1960s and 70s. Eventually, the PLO moved its headquarters to Lebanon and launched a number of raids into Israel, killing dozens of civilians in 1978. Over the following four years, Israel would invade Lebanon twice, ultimately driving out the PLO to Tunisia in 1982. That same year, Hezbollah was founded as a new organization in the brutal Lebanese Civil War. Only in 2000 did Israel withdraw from the portions of southern Lebanon they occupied, before returning in 2006 after the capture of two Israeli soldiers in a border raid launched by Hezbollah.
The antagonism between Hezbollah and Israel runs deep, and was further exacerbated by the start of hostilities on October 7th of last year. As Hezbollah has long been allied to Hamas through the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” they intervened the following day with missile barrages targeting northern Israel. Following months of on-and-off skirmishes along the border, 60,000 Israelis and over 100,000 Lebanese were displaced from their homes due to airstrikes and rocket fire, with many civilian deaths in both nations.
This summer, a chain of escalations led to the current unfolding crisis. On July 31st, a high-ranking officer in Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, was assassinated in a targeted airstrike. Hezbollah announced its revenge with a wave of missiles on August 25th, though Israel claims to have pre-emptively destroyed many of those waiting to be launched. The next significant event occurred on September 18th, when Israel carried out a device attack that caused thousands of pagers to explode across Lebanon. Clouds of smoke could be seen across the skyline of Beirut in the aftermath, leaving thousands injured and at least 37 dead. Those killed included both civilians and Hezbollah members, though the pagers themselves were allegedly purchased directly by Hezbollah before being rigged with explosives. The following day, another wave of explosions tore through the country, this time coming from the insides of Hezbollah radios. These attacks put thousands in hospital, including many Hezbollah members, weakening the organization and causing chaos due to a lack of trustworthy methods of communication between members of the group.
The following four days saw tensions spiral out of control, with additional airstrikes targeting Hezbollah commanders’ weapons depots, countered by missile fire from Hezbollah. September 23rd witnessed hundreds of deaths in Lebanon as Israel pounded the nation with over 1,000 airstrikes. The IDF claims that half of Hezbollah’s substantial arsenal has now been destroyed. Saturday, September 28th saw the most recent and violence escalation with the targeted assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general and leader of Hezbollah. Now, the world holds its breath, with Israel crossing the border in recent days, leading to localized classes across southern Lebanon
How has UVA’s administration and many clubs responded to this situation? No statements should be anticipated from the administration, as they recently implemented a “Position of Neutrality” policy, meaning no public positions will be taken or comments made “except as those questions directly affects its mission or operations.” The response from groups on Grounds may still be coming–the Lebanese Club at UVA posted a response to the airstrikes launched on September 23rd, “condemning the actions of the apartheid state of Israel.” In the wake of the dispersal of the encampment last May, it is yet to be seen how these events will impact UVA, though there have been certain changes made to UVA’s policies intended to clarify rules around camping and protesting. Some of the policy changes include banning camping and restricting the ability of masked students to disguise their identities, among others. These policy changes may or may not be tested, but these recent events have already impacted many on Grounds–particularly those with family and friends in the region.
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