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War or peace? Lebanese citizens speak out ahead of Nasrallah speech

After nearly a month of silence amid fighting on the southern border, the Hezbollah leader is finally set to speak Friday. Here’s what people hope he’ll say — and not say.

War or peace? Lebanese citizens speak out ahead of Nasrallah speech

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appears on a screen during a rally in Lebanon in 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)

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BEIRUT — Since the Hamas-Israel war broke out last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has remained unusually silent.

Though cross-border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in recent weeks have riled southern Lebanon’s border villages, killing several residents and a journalist, the question remains over whether the fighting might spread to the rest of the country, too.

Many residents in Lebanon and the region have been anxiously anticipating Nasrallah’s speech hoping that it might give the final answer to where the country is headed: Business as usual, or war?

He is finally scheduled to speak on Friday at 3 p.m.

L’Orient Today went to Beirut’s bustling Hamra Street on Thursday to ask people what they hope he’ll say — and not say.

Protesters at a pro-Hezbollah rally in Lebanon in 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)

According to Jalal, a taxi driver who says he also goes by Abu Zeinab, “people think that Sayyed [Hassan Nasrallah] will announce a war, but he has always said that he will defend Lebanon when it’s attacked. He will retaliate, yet I don’t think he will announce a war. No one knows what’s on his mind.”

“However, if he announces one, I trust his judgment of matters,” Jalal added.

Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting one another at Lebanon’s southern border since Oct. 7, when Hamas executed operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” and Israel launched a war against Gaza, committing massacres against civilians and carpet bombing the besieged strip.

Around 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza since, including thousands of children.

Israel has also repeatedly threatened an all-out ground invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Adnan Harakeh, an accessories shop owner, said that “if Israel invades Gaza, then we will go to war, and the decision is his [Nasrallah’s].”

“Gaza is besieged and they are still able to defend themselves, and they are attacking Israel back daily. Can you imagine what Lebanon can do?” Harakeh added.

‘Nasrallah wants Lebanon’s best interest’

“I'm worried but we need to remain positive,” Diala Moallem, one passerby, told L’Orient Today. “I think Nasrallah wants Lebanon’s best interest and he knows that, economically, the country can’t handle a war.”

Ghassan Safa, a roaming coffee seller in Hamra, said that he has “four sons fighting in the ranks of Hezbollah, I have presented them [to defend their country].

Safa added that he is “not scared of a war. We have 60 [Hezbollah and allied] martyrs who have left behind [mourning] families.”

“This won't pass, Nasrallah won’t let this go. There will be a war and, God willing, Nasrallah will take us to victory. When Israel comes to Lebanon, we will be here, and we will eradicate it.”

Children participate in a pro-Hezbollah rally in Lebanon in 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)

Nearby, resident Riad Tawqatly sat in front of a crowded cafe and calmly sipped coffee. “I’m waiting for Israel to come and attack Lebanon,” he said. “After looking at the pictures of those shredded kids, and the massacres that Israel committed, I will be sitting here and waiting for them, and I have a gun and I will fight back.”

‘Israel has to pay the price for what it’s done’

A Serbian woman, Vera, who has been married to a Lebanese man “for a long time,” said, “who wants war? Who wants destruction? But I want to see Israel pay the price for what it’s doing to those kids in Gaza. I always believed that there are no winners in war. Everybody loses, but now I want to see Israel pay the price for what it’s done, and Nasrallah can make them pay. I know it.”

Rima, a saleswoman at a women’s clothes and accessories store, told L’Orient Today that she doesn’t want a war, when she “thinks about it logically.”

“But when I see images of the massacres taking place in Gaza, my blood boils,” Rima said.

The sole financial provider to her two elderly parents, Rima lives in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong foothold.

“I have no means of leaving to a safer place in case of war,” Rima added. “So I’m hoping for the best, and I know that whatever Nasrallah’s decision is — be it peace or war — that is the best.” 

Follow our live coverage here.BEIRUT — Since the Hamas-Israel war broke out last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has remained unusually silent. Though cross-border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in recent weeks have riled southern Lebanon’s border villages, killing several residents and a journalist, the question remains over whether the fighting might spread to the...