Israel, which began a ground war across the Lebanese border on the 1st, is gradually increasing the level of its offensive, including airstrikes on financial institutions known to be the ‘financial lines’ of the pro-Iranian armed group Hezbollah. As the armed conflict has intensified since the killing of Yahya Shinwar, the top leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas, on the 16th, there are predictions that a ceasefire will not be easy for the time being despite mediation by the United States and other countries.
According to Reuters, etc., on the night of the 20th, the Israeli military carried out air raids on three branches of the financial institution ‘Al-Khard Al-Hasan’ in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut. The Israeli military said, “The financial institutions in question are involved in financing Hezbollah.” Founded in 1983, Al-Khard Al-Hasan is called ‘Hezbollah’s money holder’ and has been on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list since 2007. On the same day, the Israeli military also struck Hezbollah’s intelligence agency and underground weapons depot on the outskirts of Beirut. It was reported that three Hezbollah executives were killed in the process.
The United States, ahead of the presidential election on the 5th of next month, is trying to mediate a cease-fire, including asking Israel to reduce the scale of airstrikes, but Israel does not seem to be listening. On the 19th, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued an unusually strong criticism, saying, “There are too many civilian casualties (from Israeli attacks),” and “We call for a reduction in airstrikes near Beirut.” However, the next day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who inspected a military base in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, said, “Our goal is to completely cleanse southern Lebanon (where Hezbollah is based) for the return of northern Israeli residents,” and added, “It is not about simply defeating the enemy.” “It is moving to the stage of complete destruction of southern villages,” he said.
Israel also attacked the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) stationed in southern Lebanon. In a statement released on the 20th, UNIFIL condemned, “Israeli forces intentionally destroyed the guard post and fence with a bulldozer,” and added, “This is a clear violation of international law and Security Council resolutions.” UNIFIL is stationed in the Lebanese border area in accordance with Resolution 1701 adopted by the UN Security Council following the 2006 ’34-day war’ between Israel and Hezbollah.
White House Senior Advisor Amos Hochstein, U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East, is scheduled to visit Lebanon on the 21st to negotiate a ceasefire, but some say that Israel is actually strengthening its offensive, so the ceasefire negotiations have virtually passed. Senior Advisor Hochstein plans to meet with Lebanon’s Prime Minister (Sunni Islam) and Speaker of the National Assembly (Shiite Islam) to discuss a ceasefire.
However, according to the Internet political media Axios, ahead of Hochstein’s visit to Lebanon, Israel requested the United States on the 17th to “station Israeli troops in Lebanon” as a condition of ceasefire negotiations. A high-ranking member of the U.S. administration said, “Israel’s ceasefire conditions are difficult for Lebanon to accept as they will be viewed as an infringement on its sovereignty.”
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]
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