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.

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.

The regional war unleashed after the attacks against Iran This has placed the so-called "axis of resistance" at the center of its deepest crisis in its two decades of history. As Israel intensifies its bombing of Lebanon—including the southern suburbs of Beirut—and the conflict with Iran spreads across the region, Tehran's network of allies attempts to maintain a semblance of unity. But behind the scenes, tensions, political calculations, and survival strategies are multiplying.

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.

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.

When looking for activities that break the ice between people, no matter how culturally distant they may be, Ric Fernández (Santander, 1982) chose soccer. "Soccer can be a way to let off steam, but it's also an art, and it's very inclusive. You don't even need a ball; you can play with a bottle of Fanta between two sweatshirts. Who gives you that? The dance? Do you need the music? The drink? You need the bar, the money, the drink, the connection," explains this journalist and aid worker in a video call between the Cantabrian region of Valles Pasiegos and Barcelona, which had to be done twice because the interviewer didn't record the audio correctly on the first attempt.

At 6:21 p.m. on September 27, 2024, Beirut shook. It wasn't just a tremor; the shock was felt underground in every corner of the city. Within minutes, Israeli fighter jets dropped at least a dozen bunker-busting bombs weighing 900 kilograms each in a surgically precise operation. Israel had staked everything on a single card. to eliminate Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, who was hiding with other members of the organization's military leadership in the place considered the most impregnable, a shelter 30 meters underground. With this attack, Israel fulfilled the prophecy its leaders had been repeating for years: to tear the leader from the snake.

Since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency, his administration has increased pressure on Lebanon with a roadmap aimed directly at the demilitarization of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia allied with Iran. The country is facing a turning point. Either it takes control of its sovereignty or it will be at the mercy of outside decisions. Washington's warning is clear. If there is no internal progress, Israel could decide to resolve the problem on its own.

For more than two decades, Middle East analysts have speculated about the consequences of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, a long-standing threat from Washington and Tel Aviv. The prevailing opinion had always been that such an attack would set the entire region ablaze and provoke a major war with unpredictable consequences. However, all calculations and balances in the region have changed following the October 7 attacks in Gaza, as the network of allies that Tehran had been building since the 1980s to protect it from an attack has become deeply flawed.

At the end of April, Israel broke the ceasefire in Lebanon, in place since November. The latest bombing of Beirut was not just another attack, but an action to make it clear that Benjamin Netanyahu's government continues to set the rules of the conflict. Although Tel Aviv justified it as a reaction to an alleged "flagrant violation" of the truce by Hezbollah, the real objective appears to be something else. For Israel and its allies, the disarmament of the Shiite militia should not be limited to south of the Litani River, but should extend to all of Lebanese territory. It brandishes an ambiguous clause in the agreement with Washington that allows the Israeli army to intervene in the event of any "perceived" threat. All this just before the visit to Beirut of US envoy Morgan Ortagus, who will seek to pressure for the disarmament of the Iran-allied Shiite group and to advance the Israeli withdrawal from the territories still occupied.

Israeli troops were due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 at the latest, but today they are still in various strategic points in the country, although most of the troops have returned to Israeli territory. For Tel Aviv it is vital to stay "at some points", considering that the Lebanese armed forces have not managed to disarm Hezbollah or fully deploy in the area, violating part of the ceasefire agreement.