Residents return to Southern Lebanon with hope and sorrow
Adnan Kaour returned on Thursday to check on his home in southern Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre - once known as an idyllic summer getaway spot - just a week after Israel issued warnings for all of its residents to evacuate.
The warnings were followed by sweeping airstrikes on the city, which Israel said targeted the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group.
What Kaour found back in Tyre, shattered his hopes - his dream family apartment overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean Sea was a heap of rubble and shattered glass. His return coincided with the announcement of an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East. The deal also calls for an end to the war in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, but it’s unclear what that means in practice. Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the agreement. Iran insists Israel must withdraw from the large swath of southern Lebanon it is occupying, but the wording of the interim deal doesn’t explicitly require that and only ensures Lebanon’s “territorial integrity.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment following the signing of the deal, though Israel has vowed to keep its troops in Lebanon, while Hezbollah says it’s committed to resisting Israel.
Fighting between the two sides, which was still underway on Wednesday in villages and towns of southern Lebanon, could derail the deal.
Israeli Troops To Stay Lebanon: Netanyahu
Tyre: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel’s military will stay in southern Lebanon, where it has occupied up to 10 kilometres from the border. The remarks were his first comment since the US-Iran deal was signed. Netanyahu said Israel must “maintain a security zone in southern Lebanon, and it requires that we must not leave there as long as Israel’s security needs require it.” He has made similar comments in the past about Israel’s refusal to withdraw from southern Lebanon. The US-Iran deal to end the war in the Middle East, signed overnight, also calls for an end to the war in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the militant Hezbollah group, but it’s unclear what that means in practice.
