A destabilising force In Gaza and Lebanon, there is no excuse for Israel's actions

A common defence of Israel's belligerence, within the Palestinian territories and in the wider region, is that it must act this way because it is surrounded by countries that are trying to annihilate it.

- Nesrine Malik

Like many arguments that attempt to justify Israel's disproportionate response to 7 October, it is not only incorrect but also an inversion of reality. The events of the last few months and the assault on Lebanon demonstrate that it is Israel which is a threat to its neighbours.

On one day last month, Israeli airstrikes killed 558 people in Lebanon. Among the dead were 50 children, as well as humanitarian workers, first aid responders and government employees. Lebanon's prime minister, Najib Mikati, says a million people could soon be displaced.

A Gaza in microcosm is quickly unfolding - thousands fleeing for safety, traumatised children, high casualties, an escalation where there is no limit on the civilian lives that can be sacrificed to achieve Israel's goals.

Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in a war of signalling military capability, exchanging missiles and rhetoric but never open and unrestrained warfare. That changed with the pager and radio attacks, widely believed to be by Israel, followed by airstrikes. Israel is looking not just for a cowing of Hezbollah, but for military victory. But there is a risk that Hezbollah and Iran, which have so far refrained from a clearcut declaration of war, will be goaded into a face-saving conflict which neither they or Israel can win outright.