My fellow Lebanese, don’t be fooled by Hezbollah yet again

Many of you are angry by what happened yesterday with exploding pagers in Lebanon. Twelve people were killed, thousands were injured, there was panic and chaos, and the hospitals were overwhelmed. This incident has been widely attributed to Israel although no one has claimed responsibility. Today, walkie-talkie explosions are reported across Lebanon, causing more deaths, injuries, fear, and confusion.

It is normal for you to be angry, but you should also understand whom it makes sense to be angry at. Don’t let Hezbollah manipulate you yet again.

If Israel did this, it did it to target Hezbollah terrorists in the context of a war that Hezbollah willingly engaged in after Hamas started it on October 7, 2023. On that day, Hamas committed a horrific massacre and kidnapped hundreds of Israeli citizens, many of whom it still holds, against international law and against every standard of decency in the world. Lebanon, and therefore Hezbollah, had no business entering that war. Lebanon was not attacked by Israel, at least not until Hezbollah started attacking first.

Due to Hezbollah attacks, 60,000 residents of Israel’s north are now refugees. You have been told by Lebanese media that Hezbollah’s targets have been military, but clearly, that is not true. In fact, in a single attack alone, Hezbollah murdered twelve Israeli Druze children in the town of Majdal Shams.

But even if Israel’s military bases were the only target of Hezbollah, do you think that it is reasonable for Israel to not respond and to not target Hezbollah terrorists?

As I wrote three years ago, Hezbollah is a cancer that is killing Lebanon. You know it, even if you only say it in hushed tones to only the people that you trust the most. You know it, even if you don’t even dare admit it to yourself.

Why does Hezbollah’s military wing even exist? It says that it’s to defend Lebanon against Israel, but the reality is the reverse. Hezbollah is a magnet that attracts attacks on Lebanon by Israel. Hezbollah attacks Israel, and Israel responds. It really isn’t more complicated than that. The minute attacks against Israel stop coming from Lebanon, Israel will no longer attack Lebanon.

So clearly Hezbollah is lying to you about its reason for having a military wing. The real reason is that it can use that military power to intimidate Lebanese politicians and Lebanese citizens, and let’s be honest, it is working. Lebanese politicians don’t dare point out the obvious fact that Hezbollah is the problem, not the solution. The media does not dare tell you what is really happening. You as Lebanese citizens are afraid to even speak the truth with your neighbors.

Hezbollah is not on the side of the Lebanese people. It is on the side of Hamas and on the side of the Iranian regime. They are part of an axis of evil that doesn’t care about how many Arabs die as long as the Iranian regime can increase its sphere of influence in the Middle East, at your expense.

I don’t expect that you will go into the streets and denounce Hezbollah. You know what they do to people who oppose them. But at least admit to yourself what the real problem is. The problem is Hezbollah, not Israel.