The recent Gleaner commentary by Raslan Abu Rukun presents a tired Israeli narrative: Israel as a willing partner for peace, Lebanon as a state held hostage by Hezbollah, and Iran as the destabilising force. It is a convenient framing but deeply deceptive and incomplete.

If April 14 is to be remembered as a historic moment in the Middle East, it must be understood not through one-side’s fallacious claims of virtue but through a fuller accounting of the realities that have shaped this conflict.

The assertion that Israel “has no conflict with the Lebanese people” does not withstand scrutiny. Beginning in 1978, Israel has repeatedly engaged in military actions on Lebanese territory, most notably during the 2006 Lebanon War, which resulted in over a 1,000 Lebanese deaths, widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the displacement of nearly a million people. Civilian areas, including bridges, power plants, and residential neighbourhoods were heavily targeted. For well-thinking human beings, this is not the behaviour of one at peace with their neighbours. Since the 2006 war, Lebanon has been subjected to near daily airstrikes and cross-border incursions.