Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Israel’s end goal
- Likelihood of land invasion
- Will Iran and US intervene
- Popular support for Hezbollah
- Armenian community
Episode 369 | Recorded: September 24, 2024
Show Notes
Lebanon Under Attack
The BBC reports that nearly 500 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes on South Lebanon. Israel claims to be hitting Hezbollah fighters and strongholds, but of course it’s the common citizens who are taking the hits and casualties. This attack comes on the heels of the latest warfare tactic from Israel: exploding pagers and cellular devices, which indicates that supply chains have been hacked into, compromised, to booby trap personal digital devices.
Questions:
- What is the end goal for Israel?
- How serious of an attack is this against Hezbollah’s command and control capabilities?
- Today Israel again hit targets in Beirut. What can Lebanon do? Is there even a functional government to decide on a national response strategy, whether that is through the UN, or on the ground, or through regional partnerships, or whatever?
- The US is sending more ships to the region. How likely is US involvement directly in Lebanon if Israel does a land invasion?
- Where is France during this conflict?
Prior to Oct 7, some groups in Lebanon did not support Hezbollah, while some communities, such as the Sunnis and Maronite Christians disagreed with the Hezbollah agenda.
Questions:
- Is Hezbollah’s support level higher after Oct. 7?
- What is the sentiment like in general in Lebanon?
Finally let’s touch on the Armenian community in Lebanon.
Questions:
- How is the Armenian community reacting?
- Could the current situation lead to a mass emigration from the community?
- Where would they go? (Armenia? Europe? US? Other?)
Alright, we’ll leave it there for today! Thank you Yeghia!
Wrap-up
That’s our show today, this episode was recorded on September 24, 2024.
Hosts
Asbed Bedrossian
Asbed is founder of the Armenian News Network Groong and co-founder of the ANN/Groong podcast.
Hovik Manucharyan
Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.