What is Israel doing in Lebanon? | Global News Podcast

Welcome to the Global News podcast on. YouTube. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway and. today we're joined by the BBC's Hugo. Bachega in the Lebanese capital Beirut. And Hugo, Israel's been hitting targets. there for the best part of a month. Now. it says it wants to occupy the south of. the country. What are its plans exactly? Yeah, Oliver. So what we're hearing from. the Israeli officials is that they plan. to create this security buffer zone in. the south. In other words, this is an. invasion that is happening and that this.

could lead to an occupation of parts of. Lebanon. So. what we're seeing here is that let's go. back to what happened after 2024. Those. villages and communities along the. border that were completely destroyed, empty, residents you know, hadn't been. allowed to go back to their homes and I. think we're seeing an expansion now of. this so-called buffer zone. So the. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz.

saying that Israel will keep security. control over the area between the border. and the Litani rivers. This is a river. that is 30 km, 20 miles from the border. So this is a huge area of the country. Is Israel planning to occupy, you know, this entire. region of Lebanon? We still don't know, but I think it is clear here that what. the Israelis are planning to do is to. create this area in the south that is.

clear of any kind of presence as this. invasion continues and we could see some. kind of occupation of parts of Lebanon. well beyond this conflict. Yeah, in. order to create that buffer zone, Israel. Katz says, and I quote, "All homes in. Lebanese villages near the border will. be destroyed in accordance with the Rafa. and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza." What. does that mean for the people living. there? Yeah, I think this is very. concerning because we're seeing similar.

tactics that were employed in Gaza being. now employed in Lebanon, which is the. destruction of villages, the destruction. of communities. More than a million. people have been displaced across. Lebanon because of this conflict and. I've met many families, displaced. families and there is the real concern. here that their houses may be destroyed. and that because of the situation in. those villages and those communities. that even after the end of the war, and.

we don't know when this is going to be. that they're not going to be going to be. allowed to return to those homes. And. obviously there is the fear that this. could lead. you know, lead to a major humanitarian. crisis in this country and you know, Lebanon has suffered so much in recent. years. If you look at what's happened in. the last 6 years, there was the. pandemic, there was the. massive economic crisis, there was the. port explosion here in Beirut, then the. war in 2024 and now another war. So.

obviously there's a lot of suffering. here in this country and there is this. real concern among these displaced. families, particularly the families that. have come from those villages in the. south of the country that again, they. may never be able to go back to those. villages. Yeah, as you say, a million. already displaced according to the. Lebanese authorities. Israel saying. something like 600,000. people who live in the south won't be.

able to return until Israel is safe, which could be a very long time. What is. day-to-day life like for the people. forced to flee? It is a a very difficult situation and. the government simply doesn't have the. ability to provide basic services, to. provide. you know, what those people need in. terms of of supplies, in terms of you. know, basic needs really. So they are. relying on human rights organizations,

on on on you know, external help and. we've met some families living here in. Beirut and they were talking about you. know, a very difficult situation, especially for the children because. obviously schools have been closed, schools have been turned into shelters. and entire families living in improvised. tents. in places like squares and public. spaces. So it is a very difficult. situation for those families and you. know, as the conflict continues, they.

simply don't know when or if they'll be. able to go back home. Now as well as the. people have been displaced, more than a. thousand people have been killed. according to Lebanon. Those include UN peacekeepers, at least. one Lebanese soldier and and three. journalists and you you went to their. funeral. Exactly and this really gives you an. idea of the fear that people across the. country have of not knowing when the.

next Israeli airstrike will hit. You know, in many of those attacks, the Israeli military issues warnings, giving people some time to leave those. areas, but in some of those cases, particularly in suspected targeted. assassinations, there's no warning. So. obviously this has created fear, panic. and obviously anger across this country. So I went to the funeral on Sunday of. the three journalists who were killed in.

what seems to be a targeted Israeli. airstrike on at least one of them, Ali. Shiyab, who worked for the Al Manar. television station, which is owned by. Hezbollah. And the killing of these. three journalists, Fatima Ftouhi and. also Mohammad Ftouhi from the Al. Mayadeen television station, sparked a. lot of anger in this country, a lot of. commotion as well and criticism and. condemnation of Israel because the.

Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, described this as a blatant crime, saying the journalists have been. targeted. And again, the Israeli. military said that. two of those journalists, Mohammad. Ftouhi and Ali Shiyab, had involvement. with Hezbollah. The IDF said Ali Shiyab. was an intelligence operative. within the group even though there has. been no evidence to support the claims. that they had military involvement. within the organization. And there's.

been a lot of anger here, a strong. reaction in this country following those. attacks. Now this is a difficult. situation for the Lebanese government. This latest bout of fighting was sparked. by Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel. in response to the killing of its its. sponsor in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei. But. Hezbollah is separate from the. government, sometimes described as a. state within a state. How popular is it.

and and is this violence turning people. against it? Yeah, it is a very complex. situation because you have this. organization, Hezbollah, which is not. only a militia, you know, I think. outside Lebanon people, you know, know. of Hezbollah as being this powerful. armed organization, but here in Lebanon, Hezbollah is a political party. It has. representation in parliament, representation in the government, you. know, the labor minister, the health. minister.

come from Hezbollah. And Hezbollah came. under a lot of criticism. in the very beginning of the war, including from some of its supporters. who. blamed Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon. into another conflict with Israel. I. think that situation has changed. I. think we're back now to those old. divisions and old positions. Those who. oppose Hezbollah remain critical of. Hezbollah, saying that. Hezbollah is more interested in. defending its own positions than.

defending the interests of Iran. And those who support Hezbollah continue. to. be, you know, in favor of the group, support the group and many people, you. know, have been telling me that they see. Hezbollah as being the only force, the. only group in this country capable of. defending them and and protecting them. So it does feel that we're back to the. old situation here and what makes. everything, you know, much more. difficult for the Lebanese is that they.

simply don't have the means to disarm. Hezbollah by force. And this has been, you know, something that's been rejected. by the Lebanese authorities even before. this war to use force against Hezbollah. And you know, the president and many. others here have been saying that. disarming Hezbollah will only happen. with time, but through a diplomatic. process, through negotiations. That it. is going to be impossible to disarm. Hezbollah or even to try to destroy.

Hezbollah, if you like, by bombs or by. military incursions. And I think one of. the problems here is that Hezbollah was. created. during the Israeli occupation of. southern Lebanon and a lot of people are. saying that what is going to happen is. that this is going only to embolden. Hezbollah and reinforce Hezbollah's. position that their presence is needed. to fight the Israeli occupation of parts. of Lebanon. You mentioned the occupation.

of Lebanon in the 80s and 90s. Israel. was there for 18 years before it was. forced out. Are we seeing history. repeating itself? It is very difficult. and I cannot see at the moment any kind. of appetite in Israel for some kind of. long-term. massive Israeli presence and occupation. of parts of Lebanon because that would. come, you know, with a huge, huge cost. for the Israelis. What is very likely is.

that Israel will try to seize some. territory and occupy some territory that. you may consider strategic. Remember. before the war, Israel was already occupying five. locations. along the border. So, I think we're. going to see an expansion of this. Israeli presence and occupation of parts. of Lebanon. But, I think it is very. difficult to see. you know, a situation in which Israel.

will be sending thousands if not tens of. thousands of troops to occupy parts of. of Lebanon. And again, I think you know, there's only one way to try to come up. with a solution to this crisis and that. is through diplomacy. But, right now. we're not seeing you know, any talks. The Lebanese government has. you know, made an offer to engage in. negotiations with the Israelis. But, I. think Israel sees this as a window of. opportunity to really try to. degrade Hezbollah further, to destroy.

whatever infrastructure capabilities. Hezbollah has near the border, to then. try to engage in some kind of diplomacy. here. Hugo, thank you. Hugo Bachega in the. Lebanese capital, Beirut. If you'd like. to hear more from the Global News. podcast, click the link below. Thanks. for watching.