Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Australia, has also been one of the most powerful forces in Lebanon, and has kept the country tied to Iran's regional agenda and the conflict with Israel. The pock-marked, bullet-ridden walls from Lebanon's brutal civil war still stand in some parts of the city, and the part of downtown that assassinated prime minister, Rafik Harriri, rebuilt after the civil war was then blown up again by Israeli bombardment in 2024. Many Lebanese people would probably bristle at the idea that their lives are defined mainly by sectarian conflict, because it overlooks the ordinary cooperation and shared city life that was so evident in the lively and peaceful city that I saw in the early 2000s.
Author: Virginia Trioli
Published at: 2026-04-03 21:00:00
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