THE ceasefire that has paused the hostilities that have engulfed much of the Gulf states is fragile at best. What reinforces this fragility is the fact that Israel has intensified its brutal attacks on Lebanon as it pursues its objective to wipe out Hezbollah, an integral part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” in the Middle East.
Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, just hours after the ceasefire was announced, have killed at least 254 people and wounded at least 1,000 others, news agencies have reported.
The Israeli military boasted of hitting 100 targets within 10 minutes, including Hezbollah’s headquarters, military arrays, and command-and-control centers.
The attacks were launched even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran did not apply to Hezbollah. This gives Israel the latitude to pursue its objective to crush Hezbollah, even if it means turning Lebanon into another Gaza.
What exactly did the US and Iran agree on? A two-week truce during which all fighting would cease and the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to shipping. That’s about it.
The pause, however, offers a window for opening negotiations on a 10-point peace plan that Iran had proposed. US President Donald Trump has said he found the plan to be “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Basically, the plan calls for lifting all existing sanctions on Iran and the unfreezing of Iranian assets, giving Tehran continued control over the Strait of Hormuz, withdrawing US military forces from the Middle East, and ending attacks on Iran and its allies.
The plan clearly favors Iran, and the US side, headed by Vice President JD Vance, is expected to present counterproposals.
Netanyahu stands by Trump’s pronouncement that Hezbollah is not covered by the ceasefire agreement. “That will get taken care of, too,” Trump reportedly said during a TV interview, describing the fighting in Lebanon as “a separate skirmish.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disagrees, saying the terms were “clear and explicit: the US must choose — ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both.”
“The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” Araghchi said.
The ruling Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatens to respond to the attacks against Hezbollah.
Tehran cannot abandon Hezbollah, which for years has been launching rockets and missiles at northern Israel from its bases in Lebanon.
Along with Hamas, pocket militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah has been waging a proxy war against Israel, receiving ideological, financial and military support from its powerful benefactor.
Founded in the 1980s, Hezbollah began as a guerrilla force fighting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. It gained popularity by projecting itself as the spearhead of the Palestinian people’s armed resistance against Israeli repression.
In Lebanon, it wielded a strong political presence, holding seats in Lebanon’s parliament.
At its peak, Hezbollah was a formidable military force, possessing precision-guided weapons capable of striking deep inside Israel and troops honed by years of combat in Syria’s civil war.
During the Gaza war, Hezbollah engaged in cross-border exchanges with Israeli forces in a show of solidarity with Hamas.
Israel struck back with sustained airstrikes targeting Hezbollah commanders, weapons caches and missile infrastructure.
The axis of resistance has weakened considerably after Hamas was uprooted from the Gaza Strip and the Assad regime was forced out of Syria, depriving Hezbollah of a key ally.
Israel apparently wants to deliver the death blow to Hezbollah while the world’s attention is fixed on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and looking for ways to cushion the global shocks from soaring oil prices.
The ruthless Israeli attacks have displaced more than 1.2 million people, Lebanese officials reported.
An aid worker in Beirut said there was “total chaos” in Beirut, with bombs raining down on civilian areas with “no warning.”
Despite the setbacks, analysts see Iran’s proxies as providing the added leverage for Tehran if negotiations go south. One observer believes that the axis members, operating on their own, still have the capacity to force regional disruptions, easing the pressure on Iran.