Pastelli
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The first article is from a few days ago.
See the same pattern of using local civilians in the 1970s and 1980s further down.
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Will Islamist Hezbollah plunge Lebanon into even greater bloodshed—echoing the devastation that once claimed 150,000 lives?
‘Collateral damage’: Exiled Lebanese voices back Israel’s fight against Hezbollah
LEBANON AFFAIRS: Lebanese refugees are increasingly voicing support for Israel’s campaign to dismantle Hezbollah, warning that a premature Israeli withdrawal would condemn Lebanon to renewed domination by an Iranian-backed militia. Their message is direct: finish the job.
By Danielle Greyman-Kennard. April 18, 2026
For many Lebanese—especially those who fled the south—the stakes are existential. They understand that decisive military action is often the only way to uproot entrenched terrorist infrastructure. Their fear is not Israel’s advance, but the possibility that Israel might once again withdraw too early, leaving Hezbollah to reassert control.
Maryam Younnes, who fled her village of Dibil at age five, is one of many shaped by this history. Her father, Elias, served as a commander in the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a force that resisted both the Palestine Liberation Organization and later Hezbollah’s rise.
She recalls a lawless environment in southern Lebanon long before Hezbollah consolidated power:
“We were in no man’s land. No one helped us… There was no army. The PLO were brutal with us as well, fighting with Israel against our will; they were slaughtering us.”
Her testimony reflects a broader historical pattern: armed Palestinian factions embedding themselves in civilian areas, turning local populations into unwilling shields while launching attacks against Israel.
Contemporary and historical accounts reinforce this. A 1982 report noted that “PLO armies deliberately entrenched in heavily populated centers of Lebanon where the PLO has used innocent men, women and children as human shields.” Similarly, a 1978 analysis warned that civilians in southern Lebanon were “forced to act as human shields for terrorist bases in their midst.”
This strategy not only endangered Lebanese civilians but also drew devastating retaliation and instability into the country itself.
The long-term consequences were catastrophic. As documented in multiple historical analyses, starting in 1975, the PLO helped plunge Lebanon into a brutal civil war that lasted 15 years and claimed approximately 150,000 lives. The legacy of that conflict continues to shape Lebanese fears today.
[Memories of Lebanon’s deadly 15-year civil war, which ended only in 1990, are still in living memory, and the trauma is still informing decisions now. Estimates suggest 150,000 were killed, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced.]
For many Lebanese, Hezbollah represents not a resistance force, but a continuation of this destructive pattern—an armed proxy answering to Iran rather than to the Lebanese state.
Younnes and others worry that, if cornered, Hezbollah could turn inward.
“Iran can tell Hezbollah… ‘Turn your weapon on the Lebanese people… do whatever it takes to stay alive,’” she warned.
Such fears are not hypothetical. Reports have already suggested Hezbollah may be contemplating moves against Lebanon’s own government, raising the specter of internal conflict once again.
To those who lived through Lebanon’s past, the lesson is stark: allowing heavily armed non-state actors to operate unchecked has already led to one national catastrophe. The concern now is whether history will repeat itself—this time with even deadlier consequences.
See the same pattern of using local civilians in the 1970s and 1980s further down.
___
Will Islamist Hezbollah plunge Lebanon into even greater bloodshed—echoing the devastation that once claimed 150,000 lives?
‘Collateral damage’: Exiled Lebanese voices back Israel’s fight against Hezbollah
LEBANON AFFAIRS: Lebanese refugees are increasingly voicing support for Israel’s campaign to dismantle Hezbollah, warning that a premature Israeli withdrawal would condemn Lebanon to renewed domination by an Iranian-backed militia. Their message is direct: finish the job.
By Danielle Greyman-Kennard. April 18, 2026
For many Lebanese—especially those who fled the south—the stakes are existential. They understand that decisive military action is often the only way to uproot entrenched terrorist infrastructure. Their fear is not Israel’s advance, but the possibility that Israel might once again withdraw too early, leaving Hezbollah to reassert control.
Maryam Younnes, who fled her village of Dibil at age five, is one of many shaped by this history. Her father, Elias, served as a commander in the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a force that resisted both the Palestine Liberation Organization and later Hezbollah’s rise.
She recalls a lawless environment in southern Lebanon long before Hezbollah consolidated power:
“We were in no man’s land. No one helped us… There was no army. The PLO were brutal with us as well, fighting with Israel against our will; they were slaughtering us.”
Her testimony reflects a broader historical pattern: armed Palestinian factions embedding themselves in civilian areas, turning local populations into unwilling shields while launching attacks against Israel.
Contemporary and historical accounts reinforce this. A 1982 report noted that “PLO armies deliberately entrenched in heavily populated centers of Lebanon where the PLO has used innocent men, women and children as human shields.” Similarly, a 1978 analysis warned that civilians in southern Lebanon were “forced to act as human shields for terrorist bases in their midst.”
This strategy not only endangered Lebanese civilians but also drew devastating retaliation and instability into the country itself.
The long-term consequences were catastrophic. As documented in multiple historical analyses, starting in 1975, the PLO helped plunge Lebanon into a brutal civil war that lasted 15 years and claimed approximately 150,000 lives. The legacy of that conflict continues to shape Lebanese fears today.
[Memories of Lebanon’s deadly 15-year civil war, which ended only in 1990, are still in living memory, and the trauma is still informing decisions now. Estimates suggest 150,000 were killed, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced.]
For many Lebanese, Hezbollah represents not a resistance force, but a continuation of this destructive pattern—an armed proxy answering to Iran rather than to the Lebanese state.
Younnes and others worry that, if cornered, Hezbollah could turn inward.
“Iran can tell Hezbollah… ‘Turn your weapon on the Lebanese people… do whatever it takes to stay alive,’” she warned.
Such fears are not hypothetical. Reports have already suggested Hezbollah may be contemplating moves against Lebanon’s own government, raising the specter of internal conflict once again.
Historical Context: A Repeating Pattern
- The Palestine Liberation Organization entrenched itself in southern Lebanon in the 1970s, contributing to widespread instability.
- Starting in 1975, the PLO plunged Lebanon into fifteen years of civil war and anarchic violence that eventually took 150,000 lives.
- Civilian populations were repeatedly used as shields, amplifying casualties and suffering.
- Hezbollah, far more heavily armed and backed by Iran, now occupies a similar position—raising fears of even greater devastation.
The Core Point
Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is not merely a defensive war—it is seen by some Lebanese as a necessary confrontation with a force that has repeatedly undermined their sovereignty.To those who lived through Lebanon’s past, the lesson is stark: allowing heavily armed non-state actors to operate unchecked has already led to one national catastrophe. The concern now is whether history will repeat itself—this time with even deadlier consequences.
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