Israeli violations and humanitarian fallout in Lebanon, Gaza

Having agreed to the November 27th ceasefire with Hizbollah proposed by the US, its subservient ally, Israel promptly ceased abiding by the ceasefire by striking targets in Lebanon. On Monday, UN peacekeepers reported Israel had committed 100 violations of the ceasefire. Hizbollah responded by firing two missiles at an Israeli military post in the Shebaa Farms area which is Israeli occupied Syrian territory. Israel’s army also ordered Lebanese not to return to 60 villages in a wide band of territory along the border with Israel.

Although villagers are impatient and eager to see how their homes and farmland fared under Israeli bombardment and Israeli occupation, Israel has nearly two months to tarry in south Lebanon. During this time, Israel will command Lebanese citizens and shoot at them if they do not obey orders. Under the deal which was drafted by the Israel’s ally the US, Israel has a free hand to act in "self-defence." This means Israel can violate the ceasefire at any time for any reason.

By contrast, Hizbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said he would work with the Lebanese army to enforce the ceasefire and did not expect “problems or disagreement” with the military. “The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese arm the south, will be at a high level.” While the Lebanese army must strengthen its deployment in the south and prevent Hizbollah strikes on Israel, this could be rendered impossible if Israel continues to provoke Hizbollah.

As with the ceasefires which ended Israel's 1982 campaign against the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the 2006 offensive against Hizbollah, the latest two-month war was not against these non-state actors but against Lebanon itself.

While Israel's state and non-state antagonists can wage wars limited by their slender means, Israel knows no bounds and, with US and Western arms and political backing, mounts total war. When ceasefires are called, Israel benefits from favourable United Nations treatment, like security Council resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 war and serves as the basis for the current ceasefire. This time round, Israel can also count on individuals monitoring the ceasefire.

Major General Jasper Jeffers of US Special Operations Command chairs the team while US envoy Amos Hochstein has been named as a member. Jeffers served in the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, was posted as adviser to NATO's military mission to Afghanistan and took part in the US-led campaign against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Israeli-born Hochstein was a lieutenant in the Israeli tank corps. Lebanon, Israel, France, and UN peacekeepers also belong to the monitoring mechanism which is weighted by US and Israeli members in Israel's favour.

Israel reports Hizbollah’s cross-border missile attacks have killed 31 soldiers and 45 civilians inside Israel, 45 Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in south Lebanon, and 60,000 Israelis have fled the north since the exchanges between Hizbollah and Israel began 14 months ago. While Hizabollah drones and missiles reached Haifa port and the edges of Tel Aviv, deaths and damage was confined to the north. Hezbollah attacks destroyed and damaged 8,834 buildings, 7,029 vehicles, and 343 agricultural sites," Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported and wrote that $38.4 million in reparations have so far been paid by the state.

By comparison, on the Lebanese side, Israel killed 3,961 people and injured 16,520, according to Lebanon's health ministry which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Israel mounted strikes across Lebanon, from south to north, west to east. Densely populated districts of Beirut, the capital, were repeatedly bombed and heavily damaged. The World Bank estimated there are 875,000 internally displaced Lebanese and 166,000 lost their jobs. At least 100,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed, at a cost of $3.2 billion. The disruption of commerce cost $2 billion and the destruction of crops, livestock and displacement of farmers has cost $1.2 billion. The Bank puts total economic losses at $8.5 billion and makes the point that "rebuilding a country ground down by years of economic crisis and political deadlock will prove a monumental task."

The ultimate victim of Israel's total war strategy is, of course, Gaza, where 44,000 Palestinians have been killed and 104,000 wounded, 70 per cent of whom are women and children, the Palestinian health ministry reports. While this toll is high, it could be exceeded by indirect deaths from illness, disease, trauma, lack of shelter, and other factors.

In a population of 2.3 million, 1.9 million have been displaced, many multiple times. The UN reports, "Nearly 70 per cent of the infrastructure in Gaza is destroyed, leaving almost the entire population without food, clean water, healthcare, and/or basic shelter. The war is marked by a complete disregard for the protection of civilians and international humanitarian law." The UN adds, that an estimated 1.84 million face crisis levels of hunger, "Pushing the region to the brink of famine."