Exclusive - Russia Exerting Greater Influence in Easing Lebanese-Israeli Tensions

A general view picture shows the Lebanese village of Adaisseh on the left-hand-side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from Kibbutz Misgav Am in northern Israel August 26, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view picture shows the Lebanese village of Adaisseh on the left-hand-side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from Kibbutz Misgav Am in northern Israel August 26, 2019. (Reuters)
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Exclusive - Russia Exerting Greater Influence in Easing Lebanese-Israeli Tensions

A general view picture shows the Lebanese village of Adaisseh on the left-hand-side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from Kibbutz Misgav Am in northern Israel August 26, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view picture shows the Lebanese village of Adaisseh on the left-hand-side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from Kibbutz Misgav Am in northern Israel August 26, 2019. (Reuters)

Israel’s latest actions in confronting or stoking regional tensions appear to be related in one way or another with Russia’s attempts to bolster its presence in the Middle East. In wake of the limited confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah on the southern Lebanon border last week, Lebanese and Israeli officials turned to Moscow to contain the tensions.

Soon after, Tel Aviv announced that arrangements were underway for another meeting of the national security advisers of Israel, Russia and the United States to discuss regional affairs and bridge divides over how to handle Iran in Syria and Lebanon. It was later announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to visit Sochi for talks with President Vladimir Putin ahead of general elections in Israel on September 17.

“All roads lead to Moscow,” boast Russian analysts when addressing Moscow’s growing influence in the Middle East. Russia is seeking to play a greater role in affairs it was not previously involved in, such as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Moscow had during the latest flare-up intensified its contacts with concerned parties to contain the tensions.

Russian diplomatic sources acknowledged concerns that Lebanon and Israel were “one step away” from a new war. Should a new conflict erupt, it will not create a major change in the current balance of power, it will however, be costly for Moscow, which believes that any major confrontation will jeopardize its plans in Russia. This explains why Russia was quick to contact Lebanese and Russian parties to avert a major conflict.

Arab and Russian sources said Moscow was informed by Israel and Hezbollah that they were not seeking a greater conflict. Russia informed Israel that there would be no change in the current rules of engagement and Hezbollah’s attack against its armored vehicle was only aimed at saving face. Neither Israel nor the Iran-backed party want a greater conflict.

Russian experts concluded that their country had now gained greater influence in the region and now held sway over its most complicated conflicts.

Expanded Russian efforts

Russian military sources confirmed that Moscow has indeed started to become more involved in easing Lebanese-Israeli tensions, adding that Iran was “helping a lot” in this regard. Moscow has been successful in playing this role due to its good relations with Israel and Lebanon. This does not mean, however, that a flare-up can be ruled out after the Israeli elections because there are other players in the arena, meaning the United States, warned the experts. Moreover, the Lebanese-Israeli conflict is connected to other regional files, including the situation in Syria, Iran’s malign policies and Washington’s efforts to impose a new status quo that would facilitate the implementation of its yet undisclosed Middle East peace proposal.

Tripartite security meeting

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s announcement that he was seeking to hold a new meeting for the security advisers of Israel, Russia and the US offers a new dimension to the recent regional developments. Sources said that the meeting may be held in Jerusalem in the coming weeks. An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat, however, that Moscow has not yet decided whether it will join because it was still studying what it could gain from it.

The national security chiefs had met in Jerusalem in June to discuss Syria and Iran’s presence there. They failed to reach common ground on the issue. Head of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev had said at the time that Moscow was keen on ensuring Israel’s security, but this can be first achieved by restoring calm in Syria.

It therefore, became clear that the main dispute was not about discussing Iran’s entrenchment in Syria or its regional policies, but rather, Russia’s refusal to succumb to dictates. An informed diplomatic source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Moscow does not oppose meeting with Israeli and American officials to discuss Iran, but it refuses to join negotiations with predetermined outcomes. In other words, Moscow is flexible about discussing the pullout of Iranian and Russian forces from Syria, but this should take place within negotiations that push forward peace in favor of Bashar Assad’s regime and ensure the security demands of Iran.

Patrushev had said in June that Moscow believes it was more effective to talk with Iran than exert pressure on it. “We understand Israel’s concerns and we want to eliminate the current threats, but at the same time, we must take into consideration the national interests of other regional countries,” he remarked.

Complete Russian-Iranian understanding

This is the main contentious point that impeded progress during the June meeting and the dispute still lingers to this day. Moscow wanted a different result from the talks. It wanted to transform the tripartite meeting into a permanent channel of communication and discussions, not just about Iran, but all other regional affairs that interest the three countries. While still pursuing this goal, Moscow may agree to join the next round of talks.

Furthermore, Russian observers say that Moscow is open to dialogue, but it is not in a rush to offer concessions. One expert said that Russia’s main demand from the US and Israel in Syria is to avoid provoking Iran. This stance is a result of the Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition that was set up in 2015 as part of the war against the ISIS terrorist group. Russia’s stances are completely aligned with those of the other members of the coalition.

Netanyahu in Sochi

Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Sochi, meanwhile, is not only aimed at boosting his chances ahead of the elections, but it will be an opportunity to tackle latest regional developments. He will discuss with Putin the situation in Lebanon and Russia’s role in containing the tensions. He will also address Israel’s expansion of strikes against Iran in Syria to also include Iraq. Russian media had reported that Israel was no longer giving Russia enough advance notice of the coordinates of its strikes, in violation of agreements between them.



Gaza's Main Hospital is Overwhelmed with Children in Pain from Malnutrition

Palestinians bake bread after the World Food Program was able to bring in flour for the first time in over a month as Israel allowed some aid to enter the Gaza Strip, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians bake bread after the World Food Program was able to bring in flour for the first time in over a month as Israel allowed some aid to enter the Gaza Strip, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza's Main Hospital is Overwhelmed with Children in Pain from Malnutrition

Palestinians bake bread after the World Food Program was able to bring in flour for the first time in over a month as Israel allowed some aid to enter the Gaza Strip, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians bake bread after the World Food Program was able to bring in flour for the first time in over a month as Israel allowed some aid to enter the Gaza Strip, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Grabbing her daughter's feeble arm, Asmaa al-Arja pulls a shirt over the 2-year-old's protruding ribs and swollen belly. The child lies on a hospital bed, heaving, then wails uncontrollably, throwing her arms around her own shoulders as if to console herself.

This isn't the first time Mayar has been in a Gaza hospital battling malnutrition, yet this 17-day stint is the longest. She has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that means she can't eat gluten and requires special food. But there's little left for her to eat in the embattled enclave after 19 months of war and Israel's punishing blockade, and she can't digest what's available.

“She needs diapers, soy milk and she needs special food. This is not available because of border closures. If it's available, it is expensive, I can’t afford it,” her mother said as she sat next to Mayar at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, The AP news reported.

Mayar is among the more than 9,000 children who have been treated for malnutrition this year, according to the UN children’s agency, and food security experts say tens of thousands of cases are expected in the coming year.

Experts also warn the territory could plunge into famine if Israel doesn’t stop its military campaign and fully lift its blockade — but the World Health Organization said last week that people are already starving.

“Everywhere you look, people are hungry. ... They point their fingers to their mouths showing that (they) need something to eat,” said Nestor Owomuhangi, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund for the Palestinian territories. “The worst has already arrived in Gaza.”

Israel eases blockade but little aid reaches Palestinians For more than two months, Israel has banned all food, medicine and other goods from entering the territory that is home to some 2 million Palestinians, as it carries out waves of airstrikes and ground operations. Palestinians in Gaza rely almost entirely on outside aid to survive because Israel's offensive has destroyed almost all the territory's food production capabilities.

After weeks of insisting Gaza had enough food, Israel relented in the face of international pressure and began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into the territory this week — including some carrying baby food.

“Children are already dying from malnutrition and there are more babies in Gaza now who will be in mortal danger if they don’t get fast access to the nutrition supplies needed to save their lives,” said Tess Ingram of the UN children’s agency.

But UN agencies say the amount is woefully insufficient, compared to around 600 trucks a day that entered during a recent ceasefire and that are necessary to meet basic needs. And they have struggled to retrieve the aid and distribute it, blaming complicated Israeli military procedures and the breakdown of law and order inside the territory.

On Wednesday, a UN official said more than a dozen trucks arrived at warehouses in central Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. That appeared to be the first aid to actually reach a distribution point since the blockade was lifted.

Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence, and plans to roll out a new aid distribution system within days. UN agencies and aid groups say the new system would fall far short of mounting needs, force much of the population to flee again in order to be closer to distribution sites, and violate humanitarian principles by forcing people to move to receive the aid rather than delivering it based on need to where people live.

On top of not being able to find or afford the food that Mayar needs, her mother said chronic diarrhea linked to celiac disease has kept the child in and out of hospital all year. The toddler — whose two pigtails are brittle, a sign of malnutrition — weighs 7 kilograms (15 pounds), according to doctors. That's about half what healthy girl her age should.

But it’s getting harder to help her as supplies like baby formula are disappearing, say health staff.

Hospitals are hanging by a thread, dealing with mass casualties from Israeli strikes. Packed hospital feeding centers are overwhelmed with patients.

“We have nothing at Nasser Hospital," said Dr. Ahmed al-Farrah, who said his emergency center for malnourished children is at full capacity. Supplies are running out, people are living off scraps, and the situation is catastrophic for babies and pregnant women, he said.

Everything watered down to make it last In the feeding center of the hospital, malnourished mothers console their hungry children — some so frail their spines jut out of their skin, their legs swollen from lack food.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, has warned that there could be some 71,000 cases of malnourished children between now and March. In addition, nearly 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months.

Mai Namleh and her 18-month-old son, who live in a tent, are both malnourished. She wanted to wean him off of breastmilk because she barely has any, but she has so little else to give him.

She gives him heavily watered-down formula to ration it, and sometimes offers him starch to quiet his hunger screams. “I try to pass it for milk to stop him screaming,” she said of the formula.

An aid group gave her around 30 packets of nutritional supplements, but they ran out in two days as she shared them with family and friends, she said.

In another tent, Nouf al-Arja says she paid a fortune for a hard-to-find kilogram (about 2 pounds) of red lentils. The family cooks it with a lot of water so it lasts, unsure what they will eat next. The mother of four has lost 23 kilograms (50 pounds) and struggles to focus, saying she constantly feels dizzy.

Both she and her 3-year-old daughter are malnourished, doctors said. She's worried her baby boy, born four months earlier and massively underweight, will suffer the same fate as she struggles to breastfeed.

“I keep looking for (infant food) .... so I can feed him. There is nothing," she said.