BEIRUT (KGTV) — As Israel moves closer to invading Gaza, the international community is looking north to see what will happen next. Just north of Israel sits the small country of Lebanon; along the Israel-Lebanon border is Hezbollah, a heavily armed Iran-backed group with connections to Hamas.
ABC 10News reporter Perla Shaheen was in Lebanon last week when Israel declared war on Hamas. She spoke with Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, a professor at the American University of Beirut, about Lebanon's role in the evolving war.
"It seems the general feeling here in Lebanon is a feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next... As an anthropologist, do you have a similar thought?" Shaheen asked the professor.
"Everything is possible everyday," Kosmatopoulos said. "That contributes to what I said before — makes people much less hysterical. Anything could happen. Tomorrow could be a great day or the worst day of my life."
In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah had a month-long war. Since then, both sides have avoided sustained violence against each other. However, last week Hezbollah fired rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israeli outposts, and Israel retaliated. This back and forth has continued almost daily.
According to ABC News, people died in these attacks.
"There's a lot out there that constitutes signals, messages, abstract ways to send warning signs. But it's very difficult to interpret them into something more concrete," Kosmatopoulos said.
President Joe Biden said last week that he "made it clear to Iranians to be careful." Kosmatopoulos is concerned if Hezbollah gets involved, then the United States will too.
"If this happens, it might also open a Pandora box for the region and might also mean involvement of other powers, which is something everyone should try to avoid," he said.
Kosmatopoulos said it could ultimately impact civilians in Lebanon as well, leading to another conflict in an already war-torn region.
