A complicated conflict: Israel, Lebanon and Iran
By Kavan Chan
On the first of October, 2024, Israel began invading beyond its northern border, bombing the Muslim nation of Lebanon and taking the lives of over 2000 men, women and children, including Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Following the attacks on Israel’s northern neighbour, Iran has responded through a barrage of over 200 missiles, marking the greatest attack throughout Israel and Iran’s lengthy conflict. This article will explain the longstanding feud between the nations, the reasonings for Iran’s attack and how the nations may be perceived.
Why are Israel and Iran in conflict?
1. Casualties of bombardment
Israel’s attack on Lebanon also targeted one of Iran’s consulate buildings in Damascus, Syria. The bombardment of the structure resulted in the deaths of thirteen individuals, several of the casualties being of senior, Iranian military commanders.
2. History of Support
Additionally, Iran has had a history of supporting and aligning with Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist organisations who have been attacked by the Israeli military.
Hamas is an organisation aiming at liberating Palestine from Israel through extremist methods, launched coordinated armed incursions throughout the Gaza Strip on the 7th of October, 2023.
According to estimations from 2020’s US State Department Report, Iran has provided over $100 million annually in USD to Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, whilst funnelling over $700 million USD to Hezbollah in 2020 alone. Furthermore, Iran has supplied both terrorist groups with advanced technology, chemical weaponry, military training and expansions on rocket technology. The assassination of the leaders of both militant groups could have also provoked an attack from the Iranian government, due to the shared ties between the three groups.
3. Opposing ideologies, politics and histories
The country of Iran also identifies as an Islamic nation, and therefore follows the religious views stemming from the Islamic Religion. Originally, the land of modern-day Israel was taken control of by Muslims following an invasion under Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph or leader during AD638. The establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 was done to provide a territory for Jewish civilians following the horrors of the Holocaust, however, it also led to the displacement and expulsion of Palestinians and Muslim civilians through methods not limited to the destruction of their villages, burning of crops and resources and psychological warfare through massacres that caused Palestinians to flee in fear. Iran and some other Muslim groups such as Hamas therefore deny and object to the existence of Israel due to their longstanding feud and the methods in which Israel took control of the land.
Is anyone in the right?
There isn’t a definite answer as to which side is a genuine force of good in this matter, as both Israel and the terrorist groups Iran has aligned with have committed many war crimes written in the Geneva Convention. Whilst Israel states that the purpose of their bombardments on Lebanon and Palestine was to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist groups which have murdered thousands of innocent people and taken numerous hostages, they are also responsible for the deaths of over 42000 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children. The Palestinian people, who were already suffering from refugee crises and abhorrent living conditions before Israel’s invasion, are now trapped within their devastated homeland due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. Palestinians have also struggled with ongoing violence dealt to their people, including refugees, who have had their camps bombed throughout Gaza and Lebanon.
Although information on Iran is relatively concealed, Iran has had a history of violating the human rights of civilians from opposing nations and even its own. Iran’s parliament recently approved of a harsh law targeting women who don’t wear hijabs in public locations, the highest punishment being 2 months of imprisonment with a fine of 50 thousand rials (9.23 HKD). Although the punishments delivered may seem lenient, Iran is classified as a semi-developed nation by the United Nations. Over 30% of Iran’s civilians live under the poverty line, and Iran’s misogynistic beliefs, along with its corrupt government, caused hundreds of deaths and over 20,000 arrests following anti-government protests against the sexist Hijab law.
Furthermore, Iran has aligned itself with Hamas, who have had a track record of committing numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity during the October 7th attacks on Israel. These crimes include the targeting and murder of civilians, hostages and residential communities, the raping, sexual assault and mutilation of Israeli women, mutilation, pilaging, looting and more. Iran’s violent response to Israel, although mostly nullified, still led to the damaging of major government buildings and injuring of civilians, whilst establishing the possibility of further violent advances by the nation of Iran against Israel.
At the present moment, this conflict between Iran and Israel cannot simply be seen in black and white, as both sides of the field have dealt blows to opposing groups through savage, vicious methods. As many have stated before, there are no winners in war, only waves of death and destruction in its wake.