The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been intensifying all this week, resulting in thousands fleeing Southern Lebanon and the deaths of hundreds, including two Canadian citizens, hit by a missile while fleeing.
At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been assassinated after a devastating IDF strike in Beirut with estimates of 300 killed.
While this absolutely is an "escalation" in the north, it’s also important to remember that rockets have been falling on Israel from Lebanon since October 8, and the only reason the number of Israeli civilian casualties is not higher is due to almost 100k Israelis being evacuated from their homes, effectively making the north of Israel a ghost town.
Hezbollah chose to enter the fighting on October 8 in solidarity with Hamas and their horrific attacks on October 7, likely gambling that Israel would not continue to fight for this long, and that occasionally lobbing rockets back and forth would be as far as either side would get before a ceasefire deal was reached.
Those who place the blame solely on either Israel or Hezbollah are not only approaching this from an overly simplistic and likely biased point of view, they are also showing their priorities - to fight for their “side” over the fight for the humanity of everyone affected by the situation.
It is true that thousands fleeing in fear, with only short warnings beforehand in Lebanon is disastrous and inhumane, however, purposefully launching rockets into civilian areas in Israel for almost a year to the point where it is unsafe to live there even with adequate access to shelters, is equally disastrous and inhumane.
While the war may be multi-front, to flatten each front into essentially the same calculation is simplistic, incorrect, and denies the specifics of the accountability needed from each actor. Far too many voices, from the media to our politicians act surprised at Israel’s actions, responding as if Hezbollah has been a beacon of restraint in their attacks - attacks which should not have begun in the first place.
But the notable similarity between Israel’s actions in Gaza and now in Lebanon is the absence of any day-after plan or strategy. Even the most ardent pro-Israel supporters, those for whom only Israeli life is precious, have to acknowledge that continuing to send soldiers and reservists into an ever-expanding war with no clear exit plan is a risk that will end in a needlessly horrific loss of life on the Israeli side as well.
While we acknowledge that both Israel and Hezbollah’s actions require a different analysis and critique from those of Israel and Hamas in Gaza, we should also acknowledge that the solution to avoid an all-out regional war and a truly existential threat to Israel’s existence is the same no matter what - an end to military action, a deal to end the fighting and return the 101 hostages still held in Gaza, and a return to negotiations for lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
When the murder of the six hostages was announced not even a month ago, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand a hostage deal and an end to the war. It felt like perhaps something was shifting, and it wasn’t completely irrational to believe it could be the case.
After all, following the now-famous “Night of Gallant”, when Netanyahu announced he was firing Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in protest, and Netanyahu was forced to backtrack on this decision. In that moment, it did feel that there was an intensity of public outcry to which the government would have to respond.
But now, the war machine continues to grind on, with more fervour than ever, with the hostages and chances for a ceasefire seemingly further away than ever.
We need concrete action from Israel’s allies, including Canada. That’s why we were heartened to see that Canada’s Foreign Affairs Committee voted to embark on a study to determine the best way for Canada to recognize Palestinian statehood.
We have been calling on the Canadian government to recognize the State of Palestine since February, and with this call, have provided a comprehensive policy brief laying out the steps needed from Canadian, Israeli, and Palestinian leadership. The reason for this is that while a unilateral declaration may feel good, without concrete steps toward peace, this declaration is little more than a performative action.
Canada has historically been seen as a peacebuilding nation, and it once again has the opportunity to play a role in peace - but it must do so in a way that brings about substantial and meaningful change.
We also applaud the Foreign Affairs Committee for continuing to pursue avenues for the advancement of a Palestinian state after the language around recognition was watered down in the motion on Israel and Gaza in March.
This has ultimately led us to a place where Canada’s eventual recognition will come from a place of deep discussion and dialogue within our halls of power, hearing from a variety of voices representing the interests of Israelis and Palestinians during the study, and taking a monumental step that has the potential to advance peace and keep Canada in its rightful place as a peacebuilding nation.
It also models exactly how negotiations, diplomacy, and democracy are upheld - despite a change in language to the original motion in the spring, the committee did not give up on the work and looked for alternative avenues to pursue this work. The end result will be a collection of extremely dedicated experts working for the best interests of Israelis and Palestinians through a two-state solution.
While a study may feel like a small step, the diplomacy and democratic tools used to pursue much larger steps should make us all proud as Canadians, and should provide an example of how to reach difficult decisions through dialogue.