Many countries, ranging from the world's only super power, United States, to the small neighbours of Lebanon, clearly have direct, or indirect, stakes in the entire scenario. Undeniably, some have major interests, and the crisis is certainly revolving around such interests, defying even a temporary settlement, or truce, even though an overwhelming majority of nations across the globe is against the fighting that is taking a huge toll of lives, along with causing colossal destruction.

Still, fighting is continuing for the simple reason that Israel, which has launched an all out invasion by air, land and even sea, is in no mood to slacken its offensive against the relatively much weaker opponent. And the stark reality is that Tel Aviv is turning a blind eye to the unremitting calls for ceasefire because it knows that the US is behind Israel.

Indeed, it is least expected in a world where almost every day one is used to hearing about noble principles governing peace and tranquility, human rights, democracy, and dignity of mankind. Nevertheless, the belligerence is becoming sharper with the passing of every day, leaving a trail of devastation of grave magnitude.

South Asia does not have any major stake in the crisis as such, politically, but all are appalled by the shape of things in Lebanon and the military offensive. Clearly, the crisis has mainly two dimensions -- political and humanitarian. Even if the former has relatively less relevance in this region, the latter has affected South Asia adversely to the extent that it is bearing the brunt of the Lebanon crisis in a big way, much to the shock and dismay of the regional countries.

In fact, in a larger perspective, South Asia, along with several nations in South-East Asia, have been badly affected economically and socially. The people who had gone to Lebanon in big numbers in quest of a livelihood are returning home to save their lives. Several hundred Bangladeshis have already come back in difficult conditions. So is the case with Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

The Philippines, and other nations, are also in the same category. Many people of these countries, driven by extreme desperation, are unwilling to return home even in the face direct danger to their lives. It is because economic condition is important for them. "What would I do when go back home since I have to maintain my family with the income from here?" asks a Filipina expatriate in Lebanon, refusing to return home although she risks her life and faces uncertainty about her job. Still, she finds little rationale to leave Lebanon. Certainly her feeling echoes the feelings of most Asian expatriates there.

A Bangladeshi returnee is not happy that he had to come back because, he says, he had gone there hardly a few months ago spending a large amount of money and had to return even before earning back that amount. "Why such a misfortune has befallen me?" he ruefully exclaims.

The humanitarian aspect of the crisis is really alarming. Lebanon is bleeding, and the woes of the people of that unfortunate country know no bounds. The latest tragedy involving the country, and in a larger perspective the entire Middle East, was triggered by the Israeli military assault in southern Lebanon, which has continued for more than three weeks.

Tel Aviv says that it is after the "Hizbollah" which captured two of its soldiers and was demanding the swap of many prisoners in Israel in exchange for the two captives.

Earlier, one soldier was kidnapped in Palestine and Tel Aviv responded mercilessly to the development when it captured several key figures of the Palestine authority, including ministers and law makers.

Skirmishes and the capturing of soldiers, or militants, from either side is nothing uncommon in the Middle East which has been an international flashpoint for several decades. But the response by Israel to both the kidnapping incidents surpassed all estimation to the extent that even the Western nations, usually shy of criticising Tel Aviv, also described the reactions, particularly the all out Israeli invasion of Lebanon as "highly disproportionate."

It has been a like a full blown war, with the army, air force and navy pressed into massive aggression, leading to colossal devastation of Lebanon. The aerial bombardment, that did not exclude an important infrastructure like the Beirut international airport, caused huge destruction, and there has been no let up in the intensity. Of late, the massacre in Qana which killed a large number of innocent people, including women and children, led to a sharpening of the international outcry, but no truce is in sight.

Undeniably, political issues are seemingly intractable and often take time for a settlement, let alone a crisis of enormous gravity like the middle east. Efforts normally cannot find a solution to such imbroglios, but humanitarian issues often draw international concern cutting across the political, and other, divides.

Unfortunately, in Lebanon, the conditions which would deter Tel Aviv from carrying out the offensive, affecting mainly the innocent people, have not so far taken any shape despite the fact that there has been a near-orchestrated expression of concern, and anxiety, in the world about the human tragedy.

South Asia is also bearing the brunt of this crisis, and leaders of these countries need to make a more vociferous demand for immediate cessation of hostilities, and the return of normalcy to Lebanon, as soon as possible, which, however, appears to be a Herculean task.

Such a call could have come strongly from the just concluded conference of the Saarc foreign ministers, although the issue has an international dimension. After all, the region is suffering otherwise as a fall out of the Lebanon crisis, and this is costing South Asia heavily.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is a senior journalist.