One hundred days of war

Dear reader,

This week we crossed several sad milestones.

One hundred days of war.

Almost 200 people killed in Lebanon, plus more than 80,000 internally displaced.

In Gaza, we’re on track to reach the 25,000 killed threshold by the end of this weekend, half of them children. And more than 1.9 million Gazans are displaced, representing 85 percent of the enclave’s population.

Meanwhile, the conflict is expanding to the region. Iran, Pakistan and Iraq all played a game of war this week, on top of the usual suspects.

The political risk analysis firm Eurasia Group, which released its yearly Top Risks publication for 2024 on Jan.8, started its report with these words:

« 2024. Politically it’s the Voldemort* of years. The annus horribilis. The year that must not be named. »

When do we deem that the conflict is big enough to call it a regional war ? And how much will Lebanon be impacted ?

These are questions whose answers we will have to face, sooner or later.

L’Orient Today

*Voldemort is the main antagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels. Witches or wizards dare not utter his name, and refer to him instead as « He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, » or « The Dark Lord. »

In case you missed them, here are our must-read stories of the week: