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I remember being in Lebanon two summers ago, spending many days in my family’s hometown at a house my uncle had just built. A five-minute drive from the beach and surrounded by orchards, the hills of Northern Israel visible from the balcony, it was truly a unique place – where worlds collide.

But now that house and everything in it has been reduced to a pile of ash. My family is hiding in a bomb shelter under a wealthy neighbor’s house; others have crowded in the basements of the two churches in the village.

My family members live in a town that is strongly Christian and has no affiliation with Hezbollah, yet their homes have been destroyed and their lives are hanging by a string. Israel is telling them to leave, but roads are gone and traveling in open space can easily lead to death.

Is this a “measured response” against Hezbollah strongholds?

Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers was a completely unjustified action, not the proper way to negotiate for the freedom of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. Yet Israel’s inappropriate response has overshadowed disapproval of Hezbollah’s actions, even among Lebanese populations that do not support Hezbollah.

Lebanon is now a country held hostage. It has become the battleground and its civilians the collective martyrs of Israel and the U.S.’s war on Syrian- and Iranian-supported “terrorists.”

The best solution seems to be the one proposed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan: Hezbollah should return the two Israeli soldiers and Israel should agree to the cease-fire the Lebanese government has proposed to end the rising number of civilian casualties in Lebanon and Israel.

International forces should be deployed in Lebanon to aid the Lebanese military in keeping the border peaceful and to empower the government to regain control of the country.

Furthermore, Hezbollah should disarm according to U.N. Resolution 1559. While Israel argues that it gave Lebanon enough time to implement Resolution 1559, one has to realistically consider the Lebanese government’s capability to do this without tangible political and military support from the international community.

After all, Hezbollah’s militia is more powerful than the national military. Furthermore, if Israel gave Lebanon the disputed Sheba Farms, it would likely take much of the ammunition out of Hezbollah’s argument for a continued resistance movement against Israel.

According to my relatives across Lebanon, food supplies are low and communications capabilities are almost nonexistent. Roads, bridges, homes and other civilian infrastructure are being destroyed. More recently, Israel has not only hit Al-Manar (Hezbollah’s station) but also towers belonging to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, which British leaders condemn as an attack on the nation of Lebanon.

Regardless of our political views, we all value human life. On the brink of what Annan called a “major humanitarian disaster,” and with no clear end in sight, a cease-fire must be enacted to save a nation caught in crossfire.

Rizkallah is president of the Lebanese Social Club.