Beirut
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As Israel intensifies its campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, Lebanon is now teetering on the brink of being fully sucked into the escalating US and Israeli war on Iran – a fate the fragile Lebanese government has been desperate to avoid.
The seizure by Israel of more territory in south Lebanon, accompanied by a surge of violence including air strikes, follows Hezbollah’s decision to avenge the killing of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the early hours of Monday, the Lebanese militia fired missiles and “a swarm of drones” towards an Israeli military base near Haifa – the first cross-border raid it has carried out since late 2024.