Washington, DC, August 2, 2024. Lebanon is at the precipice of war. The international community needs to redouble efforts immediately to avoid a regional conflagration. Without resolute international leadership and mediation, Hezbollah and Israel will drag the region into war.
Previous tit for tat, cross-border exchanges have escalated dramatically over the past few days. A Hezbollah rocket strike in the Golan Heights village of Majdal Shams killed 12 Druze youth, which was followed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and five civilians residing nearby. Such actions could quickly push Lebanon and the region into a devastating war that will inflict significant pain and damage on civilian communities.
“The US must avoid being dragged into a military conflict, and instead kick its diplomatic efforts into high gear to try to avert an all-out regional war,” said Ed Gabriel, President of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL).
ATFL decries this aggressive escalation and calls for all sides to re-commit to a diplomatic solution that will stabilize the Lebanon-Israel border consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
