An Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, bombings in Beirut, massive displacement and rising sectarian friction. The year is 2026, but for those who lived through Lebanon’s civil war five decades ago, it may as well be the 1970s.
Lebanese who fought in the 1975-1990 war or documented it as journalists told Reuters they feel echoes of the intercommunal tensions and violence they witnessed then, and see a risk of renewed fighting among Lebanese.
The latest war that erupted on March 2 between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has deepened enmity between the Iran-backed group and its domestic opponents, pushing Lebanon’s fragile state and society towards breaking point.
A short-term ceasefire is meant to allow for peace negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, with the US to host a second round of talks on Thursday. But it is also sharpening the divide between the government and Hezbollah, which is firmly opposed to such negotiations.
Lebanon’s civil war erupted in April 1975 when sectarian and economic tensions boiled over into clashes between Christian gunmen and Palestinian fighters, then expanded to draw in other communities and countries.
Around one million people fled their homes, a figure the most recent conflict, with 1.2 million displaced, has already surpassed. Beirut became a battleground. Israel invaded in 1978, occupying a strip of southern Lebanon similar to the territory it has just reoccupied. From 1976-2005 Syria deployed troops to Lebanon — an idea that was floated to Damascus last year.
Ziad Saab, 68, squinted as he read a handwritten letter he received in 1981 from a friend on the frontline, detailing Israeli bombardment on some of the same southern villages Israel recently struck.
“This letter could be written today,” said Saab, who fought alongside Lebanon’s Communist Party at the time and now heads Fighters for Peace, an organization founded by former combatants.
Internal divisions underpinning Lebanon’s civil war were never reconciled, he said, warning Lebanese against turning on each other.
“Don’t repeat our experience. Because you’ll be surprised where it will take you,” Saab said, speaking to Reuters at his home in Beirut. “We ripped the country apart.”
For Saab, the bombardments of April 8, when rapid Israel strikes across Lebanon killed more than 300 people, “basically brought back the scenes of the whole civil war in seconds”.
