Israel advances into Lebanon towards the Litani River region, located about thirty kilometers from the border, and on the ground the sensation is clear: nothing stops it. Evacuation orders, bombings, and troop movements paint a reality that is no longer hidden. Southern Lebanon is emptying as a control that no one has declared, but which is already imposed, is gradually being established.

The attack took place in broad daylight on a secondary road in the Jezzine district, southern Lebanon. A moving vehicle, identified as press, received a first impact, and minutes later, a second in the same area. Inside were three journalists: Ali Shuaib, correspondent for Al-Manar; Fatima Ftouni, reporter for Al-Mayadeen; and her brother, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni. All three died instantly, and the images broadcast show the vehicle reduced to rubble on the asphalt, in a section where there were no visible combat at the time.

The war in Iran threatens to cause an economic meltdown even worse than that resulting from the 1973 oil crisis. This was the warning issued Monday by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Almost a month after the first US and Israeli attacks on Iran, we review the key events of a war that has already put the global economy on alert and could have significant geopolitical consequences.

"If you want proof that Iran endangers the entire world [...], it has attacked a civilian area with weapons capable of mass murder." This was said by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi Netanyahu, standing in front of a residential area in the Israeli city of Arad, which suffered an Iranian missile attack. This isn't about painting any Manichean picture in which the ayatollahs' regime appears "good," because it's a group of vicious beasts who mix ultranationalism and religious fundamentalism with unbridled and pathological greed: in this sense, it's no different from the governments they preside over. Someone will object that there is a fundamental difference, and that is that the Trump and Netanyahu governments are democratic, while the government now led by Mukhta Khamenei is a dictatorship. True, and this is precisely the tragedy: that certain rulers use democracy, and the legitimacy of the ballot box, to act like the most indecent dictatorship.

Israel will militarily occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, 30 kilometers from its border, Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted. The stated objective is to create a "defensive buffer zone." the same defensive model that it has used in Gaza. The army, which had already begun a ground invasion and blown up several bridges over the river, issued evacuation orders and will now control "the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani, an area equivalent to one-tenth of Lebanon." Kati's statements also alluded to the war. "Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon, who were evacuated, will not return south of the Litani River until the safety of residents in northern Israel is guaranteed," the minister asserted, referring to Israelis living near the border with Hezbollah, which has warned it will fight with all its might to prevent this. "We have no choice but to accept this aggression and hold onto the land," Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the militia, told Reuters. Forces are establishing an "advanced defensive line" in southern Lebanon and destroying infrastructure used by Hezbollah, including houses he described as "outposts." "Advanced terrorists." The minister maintains that the practice of demolishing houses follows "the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza."

In the hills of southern Lebanon, where the front is once again forging ahead amidst empty villages and bombed-out roads, Hezbollah is not fighting like a retreating force. It is fighting like an organization that has been waiting for this moment for months. This scene contrasts sharply with the image the group projected for over a year. Following the November 27, 2024, agreement negotiated by the Shiite Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, with US mediation, Hezbollah showed signs of restraint. At least formally, it agreed to decouple the Lebanese front from Gaza and tolerated the state's deployment south of the Litani River, in accordance with UN Resolution 1701. For months, it appeared to be withdrawing, cooperating, and even adapting to a new internal balance.

The building is gone. Where until this morning there was a multi-story structure in Bashoura, in the center of Beirut, there is now an open void, a pile of still-smoldering rubble, and neighbors walking in silence, dodging broken glass and cables. Dust still hangs in the air hours after the impact.

Ali Larijani, former speaker of Iran's parliament and a key figure in the country's Supreme National Security Council, has been killed in an airstrike on Tehran, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday, a statement later confirmed by Iran's Supreme National Security Council. His death represents a significant step in Israel's strategy to eliminate high-ranking Iranian officials: it marks the assassination of the most important figure in the regime since Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran. Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, held several prominent positions in the Iranian political system throughout his long career. It was precisely because of his experience and expertise that Ali Khamenei had entrusted him with managing negotiations with the US, bypassing the country's president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Following the Supreme Leader's assassination on February 28, several media outlets pointed to Larijani as the likely culprit. as the new strongman of the Iranian regime.

After days of cross-bombing and airstrikes across the countryThe war between Israel and Hezbollah has entered a new phase. The Israeli army launched limited and targeted ground operations in southern Lebanon on Monday, targeting positions of the Shiite movement near the border. Units of the 91st Division advanced after intense artillery bombardments and airstrikes on Hezbollah bases and tunnels, aiming to dismantle military infrastructure and reinforce what Israel calls a forward "security zone" along the border. Meanwhile, Israeli media are reporting preparations to mobilize up to 450,000 reservists, indicating that the army is preparing for a much broader scenario than a single incursion. Infantry forces are slowly deploying while tanks advance along rural roads that still bear the marks of the 2024 fighting, a reminder that the terrain of southern Lebanon has historically been a persistent battleground.

On Sunday, rescue teams continued clearing debris from the primary care center bombed early Saturday morning in Burj Qalawiya, southern Lebanon. Among the building's wreckage, emergency services recovered the bodies of more paramedics who were on duty at the time of the attack. With this update, the Lebanese Ministry of Health raised the number of healthcare workers killed since the bombing to 32. the start of the Israeli offensive on March 2A figure that reflects the extent to which the war is beginning to affect those trying to save lives.

The intensity of the Israeli bombings over much of Lebanon and the fighting in the south of the country raise a new question about the course of the warIsrael has ordered an expansion of its operations following a series of rocket attacks by Hezbollah, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Thursday. In just a few hours, massive airstrikes have hit Beirut and southern Lebanon, with a death toll so far at least 53 since yesterday.

Early in the morning, Beirut's waterfront begins to stir. Among the cars parked along the sea, some families wake up after spending the night in their vehicles. Others emerge from small, makeshift tents in the Corniche parking lots. Sleepy children wash their faces with water bottles while their parents gather blankets and plastic bags. Along the Lebanese capital's waterfront, hundreds of displaced people try to start their day after a night in the open. Many have arrived in recent days from southern Lebanon or from the southern suburbs of Beirut following of the Israeli bombingsSome drove for hours to reach the capital; others escaped in the dead of night with only the clothes on their backs. In just a few days, the escalating attacks have left more than 600 dead and hundreds wounded in the country, and more than 750,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that some 100,000 people had been forced to flee their homes in just 24 hours.

Beirut trembled once again this Thursday under the constant drone of planes and drones flying over the Lebanese capital. Israeli airstrikes have rekindled a fear that many thought had been overcome. According to the Ministry of Health, there are already at least 217 dead—70 of whom were members of Hezbollah—and nearly 800 wounded. Sirens wailed from south to north, a stark reminder that war has once again become a part of daily life.

"Beirut will soon resemble Khan Yunis." With these words, Israel's Finance Minister, the ultranationalist Bezalel Smotrich, issued a warning on Thursday that has precipitated chaos in the Lebanese capital. Hours later, the Israeli military issued an unprecedented evacuation order for Beirut's most populated southern suburbs, urging civilians to leave their homes to save their lives. As final military preparations accelerated and fighter jets circled overhead, the city braced for what many feared: the massive bombardment that began in the early hours of the morning. The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that it had launched 26 waves of attacks in the Dhiyeh district of southern Beirut. Israeli fighter jets bombed cities in southern and eastern Lebanon, including Douris in the Bekaa Valley, as well as the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut. The Israeli army has announced that it has begun attacking the "infrastructure" of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in the Dahiye area, following Thursday's evacuation order for densely populated neighborhoods such as Ghobeiry, Haret Hreik, Hadath, and Burj al-Hezbollah.

The war against Iran is escalating in the region. It has transformed into a far-reaching conflict, not limited to Iran, Israel, and Lebanon. The Iranian offensive spread throughout the Gulf region on Monday and even to Cyprus, where Tehran attacked a British military base. It also used supersonic ballistic missiles for the first time against Tel Aviv, which struck Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the headquarters of the Israeli air force commander. However, Israel maintains that no injuries have been reported.

After a torrential downpour, a single beacon illuminates the runway of the military airport, where some two hundred select individuals await the arrival of Pope Leo XIV under a tent that casts little shade. On one side, people crowd together; on the other, photographers search for the best angles, while the military band rehearses and the dignitaries march past. The sound of the Vatican plane is heard before it is seen. The crowd, phones in hand, moves between nerves and anticipation. When the twenty-gun salute rings out, more than one person jumps in surprise before looking back up at the sky, half-smiling and with a racing heart.

A year after the ceasefire of November 27, 2024, southern Lebanon remains far from normalization. The truce between Hezbollah and Israel halted the most visible escalation, but it did not stop the destruction or the remote military control that weighs on the border towns. The region is experiencing a hybrid form of conflict, with no ground advances and under constant aerial surveillance, with sporadic attacks and devastation that prevents the mass return of the displaced population.

This Sunday, Haret Hreik, a Hezbollah stronghold on the southern outskirts of Beirut, trembled once again to the roar of warplanes. The seemingly peaceful afternoon was shattered in seconds by the thunder of several explosions. Entire families rushed from their homes in terror, some children crying in their mothers' arms as they ran into the street. Amidst smoke and dust, the rubble of a residential building struck by at least six missiles was tallied. According to local medical sources, at least five people were killed and twenty wounded. Volunteers and medical personnel worked tirelessly, improvising makeshift beds, organizing spaces, and treating the injured with cuts, fractures, and burns. "We can't take any more of this," said a neighbor, her voice trembling with anger and exhaustion.

Tensions have escalated again on the border between Israel and Lebanon in recent hours. An Israeli army attack on the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, the largest Palestinian camp in Lebanon, home to nearly 50,000 people, killed at least 13 people Tuesday night, according to figures provided by the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Tel Aviv forces claim the bombings targeted a Hamas training center located within the refugee camp, three kilometers from Sidon, Lebanon's third-largest city. "The military complex was used by Hamas terrorists to conduct training exercises and to plan and carry out terrorist attacks," stated an Israeli army communiqué. Additionally, this morning, Israeli forces killed another person in Al Tayri, in the south of the country, in an airstrike, according to the Lebanese national news agency. The bomb struck a car, which then caught fire. In addition, the attack left eleven children injured who were on a school bus passing by the vehicle at the time of the bombing. Hamas has condemned "the Zionist aggression that targeted a post teeming with civilians" in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. "We consider it a barbaric attack against the Palestinian people and against Lebanese sovereignty," they asserted, maintaining that "there are no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon" and that the target of the bombing was actually "a sports field." "The victims are a group of boys who were on the playing field at the time of the attack," the statement affirms. The Ain al-Hilweh camp is administered by de factoSeveral factions are present, and there is no presence of Lebanese security forces, according to the EFE news agency. One of these factions, the Palestine Liberation Organization, has condemned the attack as "barbaric"; announced the closure of all institutions, centers, and organizations in the refugee camp; and called for a general strike, as reported by the newspaper. East - Le JourA few minutes after the attacks, many of the Palestinians living in Ain al Hilweh took to the streets to protest against the bombings.

One year laterIsraeli attack that killed Hassan Nasrallah And after devastating much of southern and eastern Lebanon, Hezbollah is attempting to recover. The Lebanese Shiite militia is doing so quietly, prioritizing internal reorganization over open confrontation. Its political and social apparatus remains intact, but its deeply affected military structure is undergoing a reconfiguration process overseen by Iran.