AITAROUN, Lebanon — Lebanon’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, conducted a tour on Friday of regions near the Israeli border that suffered significant destruction during the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. During his visit, he emphasized the necessity for Israeli troops to withdraw and reassured residents of border villages that their safe return and the rebuilding of their homes are priorities.
Salam’s visit closely followed a successful confidence vote for his government in parliament, with Hezbollah-affiliated members supporting the administration’s new policy. This policy underscored the Lebanese national army’s sole right to defend the country in times of war, a stance that challenges Hezbollah’s long-standing argument for maintaining its armaments for Israel-related defense.
“Today marks the first genuine working day for our government. We extend our respects to the army and honor its martyrs,” Salam declared while in the southern port area of Tyre. During his engagement with the people of Dheira, a village near the border, he committed to facilitating their swift and secure return to their residences.
Salam also pledged that the government was serious about the restoration of homes damaged in the conflict. “This commitment to reconstruction is not merely a promise but a personal pledge from myself and the entire government,” he stated.
The majority of Israeli troops had pulled out from the Lebanese border earlier in the month, although five observation posts remained inside Lebanon. Lebanese authorities have criticized these remnants as a breach of the ceasefire, which was mediated by the United States and commenced on November 27, concluding the hostilities.
Salam expressed the government’s efforts to garner both Arab and global backing to compel Israel to fully vacate occupied Lebanese territories, including addressing the contentious situation of the “five points.”
“True and enduring peace is unattainable without Israel’s complete withdrawal,” he insisted.
The conflict reignited when Hezbollah launched rockets over the border on October 8, 2023, following a violent incursion by Hamas into southern Israel that had set off the conflict in Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory measures involved heavy shelling and air strikes in Lebanese regions, escalating into a full-scale war by late September.
The toll of the conflict was severe: over 4,000 casualties in Lebanon and more than a million displaced, with significant numbers still unable to return home. On the Israeli side, the conflict resulted in dozens of deaths and the displacement of approximately 60,000 people.
On Friday, a solemn ceremony was held in Aitaroun where the remains of numerous individuals killed during the conflict, who had been temporarily buried, were reinterred.
During the tour, Salam, who also stopped in the southern cities of Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh, expressed gratitude towards the U.N. peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, which has maintained a presence on the Lebanon-Israel border since 1978.
In mid-February, an incident occurred where UNIFIL’s outgoing deputy commander was harmed when demonstrators attacked a peacekeeping convoy headed to Beirut airport.
Judicial sources revealed on Friday that 26 people have been charged in connection with the incident involving UNIFIL. Five individuals are currently in custody, while the others remain unaccounted for. Allegedly, these individuals face charges related to terrorism, undermining state authority, robbery, and forming a criminal group, with potential sentences reaching life imprisonment, as reported by anonymous judicial officials.
The officials further reported that around $30,000 cash was stolen from the convoy during the attack, with the funds still missing.
