Over the past six years, Lebanon has faced seismic upheavals. From the 2019 financial collapse to the Beirut harbor explosion in 2020, the nation endured shocks. Ignoring the Lebanese people’s desire to avoid conflict, Hezbollah ignited a new front by backing Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023. These trials inflicted psychological and emotional wounds, steering Lebanon toward a yearning for peace with Israel. This shift in national consciousness, often missed by the West, echoes the journeys of Germany and Japan after World War II, as they moved from conflict to a pursuit of stability and harmony.
As Hezbollah rose to dominance in Lebanon ... more Lebanese began to question the purpose of war and embrace the promise of peace.
In the 1990s, Lebanese across religious lines yearned for peace, inspired by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s recognition of Israel. This acceptance grew from Arab nations’ weariness of conflict and acknowledgment of Israel’s growing strength in military matters, the economy, and technology. As Hezbollah rose to dominance in Lebanon, backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, more Lebanese began to question the purpose of war and embrace the promise of peace.
In 2020, two events turned Lebanese public opinion against Hezbollah: the Beirut port explosion and the Abraham Accords. Evidence revealed Hezbollah’s storage of ammonium nitrate at the port triggered the blast. Though Hezbollah denied involvement, it silenced officials ready to testify in an investigation. Many Lebanese, including Shi’a, mourned Beirut’s lost status as a business hub and tourist destination, and blamed Hezbollah for reducing the city to a shadow and tarnishing its image as a beacon of tolerance. Just a month later, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords with Israel, reshaping regional dynamics. Lebanese observers praised these Arab leaders for choosing peace. Many Lebanese juxtaposed Lebanon’s past edge over Gulf Arab nations with the shift as young Lebanese migrated to the Persian Gulf seeking jobs their own fragile economy could not offer.
Amid this shifting mood, the 2020 maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel also sparked hope among many Lebanese who saw a chance for lasting peace. A Christian café owner in Beirut shared with his guests a wish that these talks would mark the start of peace with their neighbors. His cautious optimism stemmed from the belief that opening borders would bring Lebanon benefits: reliable electricity, stable governance, and a robust economy, like Israel’s. Yet, he also felt that genuine peace might demand the harsh lessons of war and suffering to convince Hezbollah supporters that conflict only breeds misery.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called on the United States to facilitate direct peace talks with Israel, demanding an end to the conflict and Hezbollah’s full disarmament.
A Sunni real estate broker in Beirut hailed the Israeli-Lebanese maritime talks as a step toward reconciliation. Yet he voiced deep frustration with Lebanon’s ruling elite, accusing them of self-interest and paralysis, too afraid to act lest they provoke Hezbollah. He contrasted Lebanon’s leadership with Israel’s, praising Israel’s capable political system. Reflecting changing sentiments, a Shi’i woman from Beirut’s southern suburbs, scarred by war, confessed she no longer desires conflict with Israelis, even though she struggles to envision how trust might be rebuilt.
Amid shifting views among Lebanese citizens, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called on the United States to facilitate direct peace talks with Israel, demanding an end to the conflict and Hezbollah’s full disarmament. Salam’s transformation is striking. Once a follower of the 1970s–era anti-Israeli Palestinian thinker Walid Khalidi, he now embraces peace, and he is not alone. Lebanon insists that Shi’i representatives join its delegation in negotiations with Israel to sign a peace agreement. Yet, true peace hinges on a total Iranian defeat and a shift in Shi’i loyalty from Iran to Lebanon. This explains the cautious U.S. and Israeli reactions, seeing the offer as premature amid the ongoing war. Still, as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues, the Lebanese have made it clear this battle is not theirs.
Many Lebanese feel betrayed as Hezbollah transforms their homeland into a depot for Iranian arms and a launchpad for attacks on Israel. Lebanon grapples with economic and security crises, dragged into a conflict not of its making. At the same time, war has uprooted Shi’a from their homes—displaced across the country, and shattered in their faith by Hezbollah’s hollow promises and its allegiance to Iran’s dream of Middle Eastern domination.
