Despite diplomatic pretense and ceasefire agreements, Israel has resumed its strikes on southern Lebanon. The targets? Once again, Hezbollah. The deeper reality suggests the fragile balance on the border has collapsed—under the watchful, complicit eye of Washington.
Evacuations Before the Bombs: A Calculated Show of Force
On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, Israeli strikes in Lebanon targeted the southern villages of Deir Kifa and Chahour, shortly after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders. The message was clear: leave now, or risk death. What followed was no less predictable than it was deliberate.
The Israeli military claimed to be hitting “terrorist infrastructure” linked to Hezbollah. Lebanon’s state-run news agency ANI confirmed two raids. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv accused the Shiite movement of rebuilding its military capacity in Beit Lif, near the Israeli border, allegedly in violation of the 2024 ceasefire, which had been negotiated by the United States and France with great fanfare but little follow-through.
The Same Script: Hezbollah Hiding Among Civilians
The narrative, unchanged for years, remains effective for Western audiences: Hezbollah is said to store weapons “in civilian homes,” “near schools, hospitals, even mosques.” The implication is always the same, Israel strikes with reluctance, not aggression. And yet, no independent source has verified these claims.
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued a warning on X (formerly Twitter), sharing coordinates of upcoming strikes and urging civilians to evacuate. It’s a media-savvy war now, one that treats strategic communication as an extension of battlefield dominance.
A University Bus Caught in the Crosshairs
In the southern town of Tiri, an Israeli drone strike killed a municipal worker and injured 11 others, several of whom were university students on a passing bus. Tel Aviv insists the strike eliminated a Hezbollah member, but even that is unverifiable. The civilian toll, however, is not.
Just the day before, Israel bombed a Hamas training site in Ain al-Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp. Result: 13 dead, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. And once again, questions arise: were these really military targets, or are we witnessing a creeping return to total war under the cover of “self-defense”?
Ceasefire in Words, Not in Practice
The November 2024 ceasefire, hailed at the time as a breakthrough, now appears utterly meaningless. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have resumed with methodical precision, and the Israeli government invokes “preventive defense” to justify every new escalation. In reality, it operates with tacit approval from Washington, which continues to arm Israel while gently pressuring Beirut for Hezbollah’s disarmament, an implausible demand with explosive consequences.
Hezbollah Weakened But Still Rooted, Lebanon Held Hostage
Yes, Hezbollah has been weakened, both militarily and politically, by the past year of conflict. But its presence is far from erased. As Iran’s strategic proxy in the Levant, the movement still represents a counterweight to Israel’s unchecked military dominance. The US pushes harder, France plays both sides, and the Lebanese government, broke, divided, and powerless, remains a spectator on its own soil.
This isn’t about anti-terrorism. It’s about reordering the region. And Lebanon, once again, is the pawn.
A New Phase in the Shadow War?
Israeli strikes in Lebanon are no longer isolated incidents, they are strategic signals. The South is back in flames. The truce is dead. And if Western leaders pretend otherwise, the facts on the ground tell a different story.
