Netanyahu’s extreme right government is escalating its war on Lebanon and Gaza. “Ceasefires” on 17 April and 10 October respectively have not stopped mass killings, continued destruction and humanitarian catastrophes.
The talks between the US and Iran over a possible deal should be seen in this light – the working people in the Middle East can never trust the imperialists and regional aggressors.
This week, the Israeli army has moved further into Lebanon, including increased bombings in Beirut. On 27 May, the Guardian summarised: “Israel has killed thousands in this war, including civilians and scores of medics, as well as striking bridges, essential water infrastructure and homes. An estimated 1.2 million have fled. Bellingcat [research group] reported recently that at least 46 of the 54 villages within the Israeli “yellow line” have been either demolished or heavily damaged using the same tactics seen in Gaza. Many displaced people have no homes to return to.” More than 3,000 have been killed by the Israeli military this year.
Disarming Hezbollah?
The US/Israel war on Iran broke the fragile ceasefire from the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Previously, Israeli forces had continued regular attacks anyway and kept bases in Lebanon. Washington assisted Netanyahu in demanding that the Lebanese army should disarm the weakened Hezbollah forces. This was also promised by the new Lebanese government early 2025, led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The New York Times reports how the Israeli government and the US closely followed the actions of the Lebanese army: “In October, U.S. Central Command said the Lebanese military had removed nearly 10,000 rockets and about 400 missiles from the south over the preceding year. In January, the army said it had completed the first phase of clearing Hezbollah’s weapons from the area between the Litani and the Israeli border. Israel called it “an encouraging beginning” but “far from sufficient.”
The war on Iran quickly led to a full-scale attack also on Lebanon, which soon revealed that Hezbollah far from as weakened as Israel’s government had claimed. With the Israeli forces moving further north, Hezbollah has responded, increasing its attacks with fiber-optic drones and rockets into Northern Israel. Netanyahu’s response was typical, ordering increased attacks in Southern Beirut, in order to “crush Hezbollah”. The BBC reported about the panic it created: “families, crammed into cars stuffed with suitcases, blankets and whatever belongings they could carry, streamed out of the suburbs in response, joining thousands fleeing towards the mountains as fears of further violence mounted”.
While Trump wants to get out of the quagmire he created by beginning the war on Iran, the Israeli government – and opposition parties – want to continue. Differences exist, but should not be exaggerated. The new attacks on Lebanon from Israel are closely coordinated with the White House, Israel’s Channel 15 reported citing well informed sources.
Peace Talks and War
Washington has organised peace talks between the Lebanese government and Israel, with no presence of Hezbollah. In other words, basically meaningless talks. The Lebanese army, despite pressure from Trump, is even more incapable now of disarming Hezbollah. The Iranian regime calls for Lebanon to be included in the talks with the US, while Washington says it’s a separate issue.
This points to a continued and worsening situation in Lebanon, a country already in a deep economic crisis and still home to up to a million refugees from Syria. There are estimates of 1.2 million in need for food aid, and agricultural land being destroyed by attacks in the south. Political polarisation will also increase further, with the government balancing between agreeing to disarm Hezbollah but also criticising Israel’s war. Hezbollah of course will present itself as the defender of the country and criticise the government’s adaption to Israel and the US.
Gaza – Genocidal ‘Peace’
The original genocidal war on Gaza underlines the brutality of imperialism and capitalism, as well as offering no end or solution. “In January, when Trump launched his vision for Gaza with great fanfare, the plan was for Hamas to hand over its heavier weapons and allow a Palestinian ‘technocratic government’ to gradually take over. Practical responsibility for the process was given to the Bulgarian politician and former UN diplomat Nickolay Mladenov. Much has happened since then – but not in Gaza. The countries that promised to contribute to the International Security Force (ISF) in Gaza have withdrawn. Hamas refuses to discuss disarmament and will not allow the Palestinian technocratic government, which is waiting in Cairo, to enter. And worst of all: the Gulf states that were supposed to foot the bill for Gaza’s reconstruction have faced their own urgent concerns, with infrastructure destroyed by Iranian attacks and major questions surrounding their business model”. (Nathan Shachar, for Dagens Nyheter in Jerusalem).
Trump’s Board of Peace, first launched as a “solution” regarding Gaza, has only deepened the genocide in the strip. More than 900 have been killed since the “ceasefire” in October. Aid, medicine and food has been blocked by Israel, leaving the Palestinian population suffering from rain storms and attacked by rats and diseases.
Israel to Take 70%
When the deal was announced, Israel controlled just over half of Gaza, while the other half, including almost all Palestinians, was run by Hamas. With no new steps following the “peace plan”, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday [28 May] he had directed Israel’s military to take more of Gaza, initially by seizing 70 percent of the Palestinian territory” (CNN). As in Lebanon, the army is moving beyond the provisional “yellow line”.
Israeli right-wing politicians are again launching ideas about deporting Palestinians and building settlements in Gaza. Also in Washington, there are ideas about eliminating Hamas control over any part of Gaza altogether. But the reactionary “rebuilding” project is, so far, a fantasy. Even more so with the Board of Peace having no capital (as the Financial Times reported) and the Gulf states no longer able to offer support.
Netanayhu’s government is conducting the same policies towards the West Bank, with plans for new settlements, increased violence and more and more killings by settlers and Israeli troops. Extreme right ministers like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have no limits in their racist-colonialist statements. Eventually this will backfire on them, with the catastrophic effects of their eternal wars and increasing isolation of the Israeli state on the world stage. The state of Israel is overreaching, led by government hubris.
Working-Class Answer
Of course real ceasefires offer relief from constant fear of bombings. History since October 2025 shows the cynicism and brutality of imperialism, with continued attacks and humanitarian catastrophes despite fig-leaf “truces”. No agreements by these governments will offer real and lasting peace.
The way forward to stop war must come from the working class and the oppressed. Strikes last year by Italian workers and others against the war on Gaza and to stop arms deliveries to Israel showed the way forward. So do the mass demonstrations globally, including the massively supported flotillas heading for Gaza. In the Middle East, mass struggles against the Iranian regime have underlined the willingness to change and capacity to shake oppressing regimes. These movements need a socialist program, fighting against all imperialism, dictatorships and the entire capitalist system.
