The Middle East teeters on the brink of a wider conflict tonight after Israel launched air strikes deep into Lebanese territory, hours after Iran’s foreign minister claimed a deal with the United States was “imminent”. The precision strikes, which Israeli officials say targeted Hezbollah weapons depots and missile launchers, killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more, according to Lebanese state media. The escalation comes as diplomatic sources in London confirm that a framework for a renewed nuclear deal with Tehran is being finalised, a move that would lift crippling sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its enrichment programme.
But the promise of a détente in the Gulf has done little to cool tensions on Israel’s northern border where cross-border fire has intensified since the outbreak of war in Gaza. For ordinary Lebanese and Israelis, the kitchen table economy is now a casualty of the crisis. Bread prices in Beirut have doubled in two weeks, and the lira has tumbled to new lows.
In Tel Aviv, the cost of shelter has surged as families flee rocket- affected areas. The real economy, already fractured by years of political upheaval, now faces the threat of a conflict that could dwarf previous wars. Union leaders on both sides have called for restraint, but the working classes are bearing the heaviest burden.
As the sun sets over the Mediterranean, the question is not whether a wider war will come, but when and how much more ordinary people will have to pay.
