Lebanese residents watch Israel's election amid border occupation and war damage

Residents in southern Lebanon are following Israel's upcoming election with little expectation that a change of government will alter conditions along the border. In Khiam, one resident described having little left after his home was destroyed in Israeli bombing, while villages across the south remain under Israeli occupation. The report portrays a region still living with the effects of a war that has spread far beyond the border itself.

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The account says Israelis are due to vote in a few weeks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing political pressure at home. It also says the war on Lebanon began in 2023 and that, over the past three years, periodic clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have turned into a sustained conflict. According to the report, Israeli attacks have killed at least 8,920 people and injured 30,595 others since October 2023.

The same report says almost 6% of Lebanese territory along the border with Israel remains occupied in the name of security. It describes heavy damage to civilian areas and says many residents in the south see little distinction between different Israeli political leaders on the question of military policy. One resident said he believed territorial ambitions, rather than security, were driving the continued occupation and destruction.

The situation matters because it links domestic politics in Israel with the future of a border conflict that has already caused major civilian harm in Lebanon. The report suggests that the election may not produce a meaningful shift in policy toward southern Lebanon, even if Netanyahu loses. It also highlights how the war has become tied to broader questions of territorial control, deterrence and the limits of military force.

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The report places Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main political challenger, within that same security debate. Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff and head of the Yashar party, is described as projecting a hardline stance on security. He is also associated with the Dahiyeh Doctrine, a military strategy developed during the 2006 war with Hezbollah that calls for massive force, including against civilian infrastructure, as a deterrent.

The report says that strategy has been used in Israel's recent wars, including aerial assaults on Beirut's southern suburbs. It also says Eisenkot has accused Netanyahu of yielding to US pressure to stop operations in Beirut, with no major attacks on the Lebanese capital since. What remains unclear is whether the election will affect Israel's military posture or the occupation of border areas, and whether residents in southern Lebanon will see any change in the near term.

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