Lebanese Communists’ History of Armed Resistance Against Israeli Invasions
Beirut, Lebanon — When Israel launched its fourth invasion of Lebanon in late September 2024, many analysts turned their attention to Hezbollah, the Shi’ite political and military organization that controls southern Lebanon and wields significant influence across the entire country.
Although Hezbollah is the most powerful military force in Lebanon, it is not the only group currently fighting against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) invasion in the south. Palestinian groups, Syrian nationalists, Sunni militants and Shiites of the Amal movement are also active in the area.
The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), while not currently engaged in active combat, has expressed political support for the Lebanese and Palestinian groups fighting since last October in Lebanon and Palestine.
Despite its decline in popularity in recent years — garnering just 1.07% in the 2022 Lebanese elections — the party has a long history of armed struggle against Israel, predating Hezbollah’s establishment and has been actively involved in Lebanon’s numerous civil conflicts.
In November 2023, just as the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon was beginning, with the Shi’ite group joining the conflict in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, Unicorn Riot met with the General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party, Hanna Gharib, at the party’s headquarters in Beirut.
“This party is one of the founders of Resistance against this Zionist entity,” stated Gharib.
“When this Zionist entity and its forces entered Lebanon in 1978 or [1982], the Lebanese Communist Party launched the call of the Lebanese National Resistance Front,” he added.
The Lebanese National Resistance Front (LNRF) was officially established by the LCP in September 1982 as a coalition of left-wing forces to resist the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which began a few months earlier. It actually predates the (official) formation of Hezbollah which took place in 1985. Earlier, the LCP was part of the Lebanese National Movement, which fought alongside Palestinians in the Lebanese Civil War, mainly against Maronite Christian militias.
“The Lebanese Communist Party took up arms during the entire fifteen-year civil war in defense of Lebanon’s unity, Lebanon’s Arabism and defense of the Palestinian cause,” explained Gharib.
The LNRF claimed to have conducted a thousand operations against Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon between 1982 and 1984. However, following the establishment of Hezbollah, the LNRF’s activity gradually declined, eventually ceasing altogether following the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from most of Lebanon in 2000. (Israel currently occupies a small area known as Shebaa Farms, which is claimed by Lebanon but internationally recognized as part of the Syrian Golan Heights.)
Unicorn Riot also visited the stronghold of the LCP in southern Lebanon, the town of Kfar Roummane also known as “Kfar Moscow.” Numerous LNRF operations were organized from this town, which has been targeted multiple times by the IDF since last October, like several other towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
At the entrance of the town, a monument to the Lebanese National Resistance Front, along with a banner of the Lebanese Communist Party, informs visitors about its history. In the town cemetery, the graves of fallen communist fighters are engraved with the communist symbol.
Lebanese communists also fought against the 2006 Israeli invasion and more recently, in 2015, fighters from the Communist Party mobilized against ISIS, which had at that time advanced to the Lebanese border.
Whether or not the Lebanese Communist Party ultimately joins the current fighting against the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, their involvement would likely be mostly symbolic, as they lack the military personnel to significantly affect the balance of power between Hezbollah and the IDF.
However, their open support for Lebanese and Palestinians groups going up against the IDF shows that a broad spectrum of Lebanese political actors, including non-sectarian groups, are united behind the Palestinian struggle and put their differences aside when it comes to resisting Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
The party’s strong support for the Palestinians was also expressed by Gharib.
“The Palestinian people in Gaza despite all these massacres. None of them raised the white flag. There is a saying that says you are not defeated as long as you resist,” he stressed.
In Gaza, the confirmed Palestinian death toll from the Israeli invasion has surpassed 42,000, including over 11,000 children. However, experts believe the true number of Palestinians killed by the IDF is significantly higher, with some estimates exceeding 186,000. Due to the constant attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, experts have described Israeli actions as genocide.
Similarly, in Lebanon, the IDF has been heavily targeting civilian areas, as well as the capital, Beirut, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, including children. Since September 16, 2024, over 1,800 people have been killed by Israeli forces in Lebanon, with the death toll rising to more than 2,400 since October 2023, including over 100 children.
At least 800,000 Lebanese have been internally displaced with some estimates reaching as high as 1.2 million. Meanwhile, over 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from northern Israel.
Related: Palestinians Face Forced Displacement, Death and Disease in Gaza – Oct. 23, 2024
Related: Gaza War Spillover: Lebanon’s Silent Displacement Crisis – Feb. 6, 2024
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