The US-Israeli attack on Iran on January 28 has had a major impact on Lebanon. The Lebanese government and people have not taken sides in the war.

However, the local rebel organization Hezbollah launched missile, artillery and bomb attacks on Israel on March 2, declaring its support for Iran.

In response, Israel has continued its heavy air and ground attacks. Hezbollah's area of ​​influence has become the largest battleground in the southern Lebanon conflict. Beirut and the Bekaa Valley are other fronts in the war.

The war has badly affected the civilian population. Carolina Lindholm Billing, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative in Lebanon, said the impact of the war would be long-lasting.

"People are living in constant fear. The psychological impact of this war is going to be huge. Children in particular could be affected for a long time," she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered the army to increase its presence in southern Lebanon.

“I have just ordered the expansion of the security buffer zone. We are committed to changing the situation in northern Israel,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Sunday.

Israeli forces have already advanced 8-10 kilometers from the border in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the plan is to seize territory up to the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border. All of this territory is Hezbollah’s sphere of influence.

Earlier on Thursday, Human Rights Watch said that Israel’s strategy of expelling locals from southern Lebanon constitutes a war crime.

The Israeli army is destroying civilian homes and many bridges, said UNHCR's Lindholm Billing. "Israel is continuously destroying bridges connecting northern Lebanon. This has isolated many areas from the rest of the country. The delivery of humanitarian relief materials has been hindered ."

In this process, Israel has also targeted hospitals, educational institutions, government property and private residential homes. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 1,200 people have lost their lives in the war so far.

Lebanon has a total population of 5.8 million, and about 1.2 million people have become refugees. Of these, 300,000 are children, according to the International Rescue Committee, a social organization. Social workers, rescuers, health workers, journalists and emergency workers have also been targeted by Israel. Israel is also targeting Palestinian refugee camps. Action Against Hunger says that nearly 500,000 people in Lebanon are facing starvation. The organization says that there is an acute shortage of drinking water. Hezbollah was born in 1982 in response to Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon during the civil war. Hezbollah fought a long-running resistance war to drive Israel out of southern Lebanon. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran, which wanted to spread the influence and ideology of the revolution throughout West Asia, supported Hezbollah internally in this war. In May 2000, Israel withdrew its troops from the occupied territories of southern Lebanon under pressure from Hezbollah.

This incident established Hezbollah as a nationalist force. However, the Lebanese people have repeatedly suffered crises as Hezbollah has not agreed to various efforts to disarm.

The last time a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Lebanese government and Israel on November 26, 2024, was brokered by the United States.

The agreement included an agreement for armed groups including Hezbollah to disarm and for Israel to withdraw its troops from Lebanese territory. Hezbollah agreed with the government's decision. However, both Israel and Hezbollah did not abide by the agreement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaz Salem has said that his country is still committed to implementing the agreement.

He has objected to Hezbollah's support for Iran in the ongoing war in West Asia. He has said that his country is not in favor of taking sides, but rather in favor of dialogue.

Similarly, he has also instructed Iranian diplomats to leave the country. But Iranian diplomats have not followed the instructions.

'This is not our war. We are being forced into it. It protects the interests of foreigners, not ours,' Salem had said some time ago.

Hezbollah is part of the 'Iranian resistance coalition' in West Asia. It has been accused of receiving weapons, training and financial support from Iran.