The Inherent Fragility of a Ceasefire: Lebanon, A Punching Bag for Israel and America
Pranay Kumar Shome, New Eastern Outlook, April 23, 2026 —
The 10-day ceasefire announced by the American president, Donald Trump, in the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon is fraught with problems, most notably Israel’s trigger-happy attitude.
The latest war was triggered by what Israel claimed were “attacks” being launched into the northern part of Israel by Hezbollah. However, upon deeper analysis, it is very clear that Hezbollah was merely acting in the defense of Lebanon primarily to ward off Israel’s illegal transgressions into Lebanese territory.
Over the past two weeks, Israel carried out an intense bombardment in different parts of Lebanon. These attacks have not only resulted in the deaths of thousands of people but have also ended up tearing asunder many families; in the process, Israel has once again invaded southern Lebanon.
The stated objectives of Israel this time are to establish a buffer zone along its northern border with Lebanon by taking steps to maintain military dominance in the areas south of the Litani River.
Destruction in the Name of Doctrine
Israel’s defense forces operate on the basis of the Ben Gurion doctrine. As per this doctrine, the aim of the country is to take the fight to the enemy, maintaining qualitative superiority over adversaries, leveraging intelligence to preempt targets, and emphasizing transferring the battle to the foe’s battlefield.
However, the defense doctrine of any country doesn’t give it the right to commit a wanton violation of international law. Israel, in this context, has been instrumental in systematically dismantling the international rule of law in the region. How can spilling the blood of innocents—particularly women and children — be termed as “self-defense”?
Not only does this violate Article 2 (4) of the United Nations Charter, but it also signals that Israel, which was born out of the necessity to establish a homeland for the Jewish people is weaponizing that very sentiment to deprive people belonging to other communities, ethnicities, and races of their very right of existence.
The Yellow Line—A Clear Violation of Lebanese Sovereignty
Israel is extrapolating its activities in Gaza to Lebanon. Amidst the 10 day ceasefire, Israel has officially carved out a “Yellow Line” to divide the areas of Israeli control from the surrounding territory. Characterized by yellow painted concrete blocks, this is a “free-fire zone” wherein any entity crossing the line would be deemed as hostile by the IDF and would be fired upon.
However, the very logic of this line is more insidious than it seems. On the surface, it may seem relatively innocuous, but upon deconstructing the logic of the buffer zone, we find that it is a part of Israel’s grand project—the dream of Greater Israel. It is a theological cum political idea that represents an Israel that is significantly bigger in comparison to its present shape—the idea incorporates territories that include present-day countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Hence, the extension of the “Yellow Line” template to Lebanon isn’t just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the human rights of the Lebanese people but constitutes the sacrilege of the Just War tradition of Thomas Aquinas. In the Summa Theologica, Aquinas conceptualized the idea of Recta Intentio, or Right Intention, while waging war. Without an iota of doubt, Israel is violating that very sacred idea.
Therefore, by allowing Israel to establish the so-called “Yellow-Line” in Lebanon, the West is allowing the country to use the 10 day ceasefire as a diplomatic perfidy to indulge in the slow annexation of the Levant—representing imperial audacity in its most egregious form.