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Rafah and Beit Hanoun are two Palestinian cities internationally recognised for all the wrong reasons. For two years, their people saw their homes destroyed by the Israeli military, part of a policy of collective punishment for the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Both cities have been largely ruined, sharing the fate of Gaza overall.
According to a UN report released in February, between October 2023 and October last year, at least 92 percent of the enclave’s housing units were either fully destroyed or damaged. More than 90 percent of the population has been displaced, some repeatedly.
The idea that indiscriminate aerial bombardment and siege tactics could be packaged as a template for destruction elsewhere is disastrous. And yet, this is what’s happening in other parts of the Middle East today. On Sunday, Israel’s Defence Minister confirmed that he had ordered the army to destroy all bridges over Lebanon’s Litani River. Israel Katz added that his forces would “accelerate the destruction of Lebanese houses” in areas close to the border, “in accordance with the Beit Hanoun and Rafah models in Gaza”.
That there should be any such thing as a Beit Hanoun or Rafah “model” for wanton destruction is unacceptable. It is notable that Mr Katz felt emboldened enough to openly threaten entire Lebanese communities with the kind of violence meted out to Gaza.
Lebanon’s government and its people are the ones paying the price for Hezbollah’s deadly attacks on Israel and their southern neighbour’s retaliation. More than a million Lebanese have been displaced and an Israeli ground offensive is worsening this humanitarian crisis. Many people are reluctant to leave their villages and cities, afraid that were Israel to set up a buffer zone inside Lebanese territory, they may never be able to return.
Israel’s war on Lebanon is not only destroying bridges, homes and communities. It is also undermining the government in Beirut. When Lebanese politicians finally agreed on a new president in January last year, it signalled scenes of public celebration. A competent and serious government was appointed. However, instead of taking the opportunity to work more constructively with a renewed leadership in Beirut, Israel persisted with an armed campaign that, although targeted at Hezbollah, also caused enormous damage to Lebanon’s infrastructure, economy and society for more than a year. Hezbollah added fuel to the fire by attacking Israel earlier this month, unleashing a full attack on Lebanon that has included strikes on several cities.
If there is a model to be followed, it should be one of pragmatic co-operation. Even countries with as difficult a relationship as Israel and Lebanon have been able to work together, although indirectly. A 2022 maritime border deal offered both states the chance to benefit from offshore hydrocarbons. Lebanese and Israeli soldiers have, through mediation provided by UN peacekeepers, been able to minimise escalations and border incidents in the past. These examples are far from perfect, but they are preferable to blowing up bridges, demolishing homes and destroying lives.
