Lebanon Plunges Deeper Into Crisis as War on Multiple Fronts Strains the Entire Region

Lebanon’s humanitarian catastrophe deepened on Saturday as Israel continued relentless strikes against Hezbollah, adding to the suffering of a country already devastated by years of economic collapse. More than 800 people had been killed in Lebanon and 850,000 displaced since the latest round of fighting began. Health authorities reported that 31 paramedics had been killed in Israeli strikes, with Israel accusing Hezbollah of using civilian ambulances to move fighters and weapons — allegations that aid organisations challenged as lacking credible evidence.
Lebanon’s plight was unfolding against the backdrop of the larger US-Iran conflict now in its third week. The United States and Israel were jointly waging a sustained military campaign against Iran, including US bombing of Kharg Island and Israeli airstrikes on multiple Iranian cities. Iran was retaliating by striking Gulf states, including a ballistic missile attack on the UAE on Saturday that suspended oil operations at Fujairah. Iranian military spokespeople issued warnings for civilians near UAE ports and US facilities to evacuate.
President Trump claimed in public remarks that US airstrikes had effectively destroyed most of Kharg Island, Iran’s leading crude export hub. He called on allied nations to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, naming China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK. Iran had closed the strait since hostilities erupted on February 28, blocking a waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil and gas normally flows. Energy prices surged, and analysts warned of further escalation if Kharg Island’s remaining capacity were to be destroyed.
Iran showed no sign of slowing its military campaign. Its military threatened strikes on any regional energy or economic facility with American ties, and its foreign minister called on Arab governments to remove US troops. The regime appeared largely intact despite the killing of several senior leaders, according to analysts, and was pursuing a calculated strategy of prolonged conflict to force better negotiating terms. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iran’s leaders were in hiding, but the country’s military operations remained organised and continuous.
The toll across the entire region was catastrophic. More than 1,400 Iranians were reported dead from the sustained bombing campaign. Thirteen Israelis had died, and around 20 people had been killed in Gulf states. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck overnight, and Americans in Iraq were ordered to leave immediately. Six US service members died in a military aircraft crash in western Iraq. With no end in sight and Trump refusing to give a timeline for conclusion, diplomats warned that the cascading human and economic costs could soon become irreversible.