October 8… A Battle That Began With A Pole And Ended With The Occupation Of The South

On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah opened a front in support of Gaza, joining the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle and attacking Israeli military sites in the Shebaa Farms, including a radar site. What began as limited attacks grew into a war that brought Lebanon into one of its bloodiest and most destructive periods.Three years later, the cost of that choice weighs heavily on Lebanese people, including Hezbollah’s own communities, which suffered enormous losses of lives, homes and livelihoods. Border villages lie in ruins, families have lost everything they built over generations, and residents face years of waiting before they can rebuild their lives, while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese land.

Israel bears responsibility for the killing, destruction and occupation. But this does not remove Hezbollah’s responsibility for the decisions and calculations that led to these results. A war launched to support Gaza drained Lebanon, devastated the communities the party claimed to protect, and left them with losses that are difficult to recover from.

Three years have passed, and the gap between promises of victory and daily life in the South reveals the cost of a battle Hezbollah chose and Lebanese people paid for. It began with attacks on Israeli military sites and left those who lost everything still waiting to reclaim their land, rebuild their homes and regain their lives.