Will Israel's war spread north? The view from Lebanon with Kim Ghattas

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

International Relations, Government, Foreign Policy, Gzero World, News Commentary, Trump, News, Global Economy, Geopolitics, Politics, Ian Bremmer

4.6 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How likely is it that the Israel-Hamas war spreads into a wider conflict in the Middle East? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with author of Black Wave and Distinguished Fellow at Columbia’s Institute for Global Politics, Kim Ghattas for the on-the-ground perspective from across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Clashes between Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, have been increasing on the border since the October 7th Hamas attacks and tensions in the region are extremely high. There’s a lot of anxiety in Lebanon right now about the potential for an Israeli strike, Ghattas explains, because of its history of Israeli invasion and the strength of Hezbollah, which has some 150,000 rockets and heavy duty weapons. Given that Lebanon is a country already reeling from economic collapse, a refugee crisis from Syria, a deadly 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut, and a massive currency devaluation, the consequences of war spreading across the Israeli border would be devastating for the country. Can diplomacy help lower tensions in the Middle East before simmering tensions boil over?

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's a lot of anxiety about what this might mean for Lebanon.
0:03.5	And of course, there's a lot of horror.
0:05.5	And so the people are torn between wanting to express their devastation about Gaza,
0:11.2	express their support for Palestinian civilians, and saying at the same time, we want no part of this.
0:21.3	Hello and welcome to the GZero World podcast.
0:24.6	This is where you'll find extended versions of my interviews on public television.
0:28.6	I'm Ian Bremmer, and today we are returning to the Middle East and the ongoing Israel-Hamas
0:33.1	war to examine what could trigger a wider regional conflict.
0:42.3	Gaza is once again consumed in violence after the brief ceasefire collapsed. Tensions throughout the Middle East are, to put it mildly, extremely high,
0:46.3	and there's a complex balancing act between religious interests,
0:49.3	Iranian proxy groups, and Arab powers that needs to happen to keep them from spiraling out of control.
0:56.2	Could recent clashes with Hezbollah on Israel's northern border with Lebanon and Houthi attacks
1:01.6	on commercial ships in the Red Sea be the sparks of a much bigger war?
1:06.0	To help answer that question, and many more, my guest today is Kim Gattis,
1:09.8	is a Lebanese journalist who
1:11.5	has spent years reporting on the Middle East and international affairs. Let's get to it.
1:21.8	The GZero World Podcast is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Prologis.
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1:44.0	This podcast is also brought to you by Bleaker Street and LD Entertainment, presenting
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	...

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