Scholars’ Circle – War Spreads to Lebanon – March 22, 2026

Recent escalations in Israel’s war kill or wound the equivalent of one classroom of children every day, according to the deputy chief of the UN Children Fund (UNICEF). The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said on Thursday that it has recorded more than 10,000 air and ground violations inside Lebanese territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect at the end of 2024. Israel’s attack on Lebanon has created both a humanitarian crisis and a potential collapse of the Lebanese government. We explore this attack, the role of Hezbollah, and the future of Lebanon from two different expert perspectives. Our guests join us from Lebanon. [ dur: 58mins. ] Yeghia Tashjian is the International Affairs Cluster Coordinator of Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy & International Affairs (IFI) and Instructor at American University of Beruit. He is the author of U.S. policy in the South Caucasus: Keep Turkey in, Russia down and Iran out. Makram Rahab is lecturer of History at American University of Beirut & the Lebanese American University. He is the author of Conflict on Mount Lebanon: Collective Memory and the War of the Mountain. This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Anna Lapin and Sudd Dongre. Politics and Activism, War / Weapons, Refugees, Middle East, Israel, Humanitarian Crisis