Its economy and infrastructure battered, can Lebanon afford a war with Israel?
The ferocious exchange of fire by Hezbollah and the Israeli military is raising fears of a regional war beyond the tense border. The risks for Lebanon are far greater than in 2006, when a monthlong war with Israel ended in a draw. Lebanon has struggled with years of political and economic crises that left it indebted, without a stable electricity supply, a proper banking system and with rampant poverty.