While the world waits to see if the US and Iran can broker lasting peace, the Lebanese diaspora is pleading for help ending a decades-long conflict that has killed thousands of people.
With the goal of destroying Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah, Israel has levelled villages and communities across the south of Lebanon and attacked apartment complexes in suburbs of capital city Beirut.
According to Lebanese officials, more than 4000 people have been killed, 12,000 injured and 1.2 million displaced since Hezbollah reignited the conflict in March.
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“That’s a third of the population. We all know someone who has been affected,” Lebanese Diaspora Network member Carine Kahwagi told 7NEWS.com.au.
Kahwagi was born in northern Lebanon and moved to Australia more than two decades ago, making her one of the millions of people in the global Lebanese community who have watched helplessly as casualty figures continued to climb.
“I think this has been the biggest trauma that we as expats experience, looking at the death toll rise,” she said.
“These numbers are huge and catastrophic.”
The Lebanese diaspora has called on the global community to support the local government and bring an end to a devastating conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Credit: Mohammed Zaatari/APThe soaring death toll has been ‘devastating’ for locals and the broader Lebanese community across the world. Credit: Mohammed Zaatari/AP
Kahwagi added the diaspora feels deeply for those in the south of the country, saying they’ve long been cut off from the rest of Lebanon due to Hezbollah’s activity in the area sparking skirmishes for the past four decades.
“We never really got to connect with them and they are the biggest victims of all that’s happening,” she said.
Food in the region has become scarce and expensive due to the ongoing attacks, leading to locals to take up arms to defend whatever resources they have.
Threats to their homes and food come not only from Israeli attacks, but also Hezbollah members using the towns as cover while ransacking resources.
“They have to find some kind of security security options, they have to find some kind of connection with the outside world,” Kahwagi said.
The militia’s influence isn’t only in remote southern villages, with Israel launching attacks on highly-populated buildings in the capital city of Beirut.
Israel says the attacks are intended to target Hezbollah operations but have also caught thousands of locals in the crossfire, one of which is a friend of Kahwagi.
The most recent episode of the decades-long conflict has killed thousands. Credit: Ghaith Alsayed/APMore than 1.2 million people have also been displaced from their homes across the country. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP
“She lived in a very prime location in Lebanon, comes from a wealthy background and has nothing to do with the resistance or anything,” Kahwagi said.
“They had family living in a building next door, which was shut down because of suspects being targeted by Israel.
“Her aunty died, other people in the building that she knows that had nothing to do with the conflict also passed away.
“Her house was bombed, all the memories have gone as well.
“There’s a lot of these physical traumas that have arisen from the whole conflict, but there are also emotional traumas.”
The Iranian-backed militia has long been a thorn in the side of the Lebanese Government as it skirmishes with Israel as a proxy for Iran, putting locals at risk.
And despite previous administrations’ attempts to remove Hezbollah’s influence, funding from Iran has helped it become entrenched in the country’s politics and military.
“Lebanese expats feel like we have we have two enemies in a way,” Kahwagi said.
“We’re not with the Israelis but we’re also not with the Hezbollah. We’ve had enough.”
There’s a cautious hope among Lebanese locals and abroad that the government can separate itself from the Iranian-backed militia and broker peace with Israel. Credit: Leo Correa/AP
While some — especially older — Lebanese feel Hezbollah’s influence can never be snuffed out, Kahwagi said a cautious hope is growing among locals and the diaspora that the government could finally separate itself from the militia and negotiate for peace with their southern neighbour.
She spoke to 7NEWS.com.au while on her first trip back to Lebanon since the start of conflict, saying the shift in public opinion was visible from the moment she moment she landed in Beirut.
“In the past, there were a lot of signs supporting southern resistance but this time around there has been nothing,” she said.
“It’s the first time in recent Lebanese history that we feel there is a government, a president and a prime minister that are working for the best of the country and want to lead Lebanon to a better place.
“We understand that the challenges are very big, because (Hezbollah) has been embedding itself within the country for the last 40 years, but the intent is there so we’re hopeful.”
But removing Hezbollah is proving to be harder now than ever, as Iranian officials consider the militia’s safety as a cornerstone agreement in peace talks with the US.
That demand practically grants Hezbollah clemency from states across the Middle East, which are trying to avoid disturbing an already shaky ceasefire deal with Iran and the region.
The conflict has steadily eroded much of the support for Hezbollah in the country as most of the country knows someone directly, killed, injured, or displaced. Credit: Hassan Ammar/AP
Strikes between Hezbollah and Israel have continued, however, with a recent Israeli military operation using boots on the ground to invade southern Lebanon and causing concerns to rise yet again for what the future could hold.
But in an effort to raise global support, the Lebanese Diaspora Network announced 400 Lebanese figures had signed a joint statement titled “a call to save Lebanon”.
“Lebanon stands today at a critical crossroads, with its territory transformed into an open arena used by Hezbollah to fight the wars of others. Israel threatens its security, occupies a precious part of its land, continues to kill and target its citizens, and pursues a destructive policy aimed at depopulating the land and erasing memory,” the statement reads.
“Iran, meanwhile, violates Lebanon’s sovereignty, seeks to hijack its decision-making process and drags the country into wars and political bargains in service of its own ambitions and interests.”
It goes on to call for countries such as Australia to support the Lebanese Government detangle itself from the deep roots of Hezbollah and find peace.
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