Nabatieh, Lebanon: A pushcart that Hadi Nasrallah uses to sell fresh orange juice is all this Khiam resident has left to his name. His home was destroyed by the Israeli bombing, while his village is among the dozens across southern Lebanon currently occupied by Israel. In a few weeks, Israelis will head to the polls to elect a new government.
But Nasrallah, like so many others Al Jazeera spoke to, expects little to change even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who launched the war on Lebanon in 2023 – is defeated in October’s general election. It is about Greater Israel. That is why whoever wins in the election won’t stop the destructive military policies and leave southern Lebanon,” Nasrallah told Al Jazeera.
But over the past three years, under Netanyahu’s leadership, periodic clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have transformed into an intense and sustained war. The Israeli military says it is only against Hezbollah. But its attacks have rampantly targeted civilian areas, killing at least 8,920 people and injuring 30,595 others since October 2023.
Almost 6 percent of Lebanese territory, along the border with Israel, remains occupied – all in the name of security. Now, Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival. However, Netanyahu’s government is not the only political force in the country that supports military operations beyond Israel’s borders.
Netanyahu’s main political challenger, Gadi Eisenkot – head of the Yashar party and former army chief of staff – is also projecting an image as a security hawk. He is known in Lebanon for formulating a military strategy – the so-called Dahiyeh Doctrine – during Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006. It calls for the use of massive force in military operations, even against civilian infrastructure, as a deterrent against its enemies.
This strategy has been deployed in Israel’s recent wars, particularly in its devastating aerial assaults on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Eisenkot, like Netanyahu, insists on freedom of action for Israel’s military. But he accused Netanyahu of bowing to US pressure to halt operations in Beirut, with no major attacks on the Lebanese capital since April.
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