Israel attacks and pressure deepen divisions in Lebanon
Israel's attacks on Lebanon and pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by force are intensifying internal tensions, according to analysts cited in Beirut.
They say the strategy is aimed at exploiting sectarian and political divisions inside the country.
Michael Young, a Lebanon expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the effect is not accidental.
He said the displacement of people from the southern suburbs into areas without a Shia majority was helping to create sectarian tensions and increase pressure on the Lebanese state.
The reporting says Israel expanded its attacks beyond southern Lebanon to Beirut and other areas after Hezbollah responded to the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on 28 February.
It also says Israel has killed more than 5,000 people in Lebanon since October 2023 and forcibly displaced 1.2 million people.
The developments matter because they are feeding a wider conflict dynamic inside Lebanon at a time when the country is already under military and political strain.
Analysts say the pressure campaign is widening divisions rather than reducing them.
The article places the current escalation in the context of a November 2024 ceasefire agreement that Israel is said to have violated more than 10,000 times, according to United Nations peacekeepers.
