Residents in the ruins of the village of Aïta el-Chaab displaying the victory sign and carrying the Hezbollah flag, on Sunday, January 26, 2025. Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient-Le Jour
BEIRUT — In a statement released early Sunday evening, Hezbollah celebrated the “victory” against the “Israeli enemy,” marking the end of a deadline set for the Israeli army to withdraw from areas it still occupies in southern Lebanon, following the agreement reached on Nov. 27.
Despite Israel’s decision to maintain its presence beyond the deadline, convoys of thousands of residents returned to their homes on Sunday. The response from Israeli forces was deadly: at least 22 people were killed and 124 injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
"The people of the resistance have once again proven that they are rooted in their land, attached to every grain of sand, the faithful guardian of the nation's sovereignty, unfaltering before any threat or aggression," Hezbollah's statement read. The party described the scenes of residents returning to their villages, "carrying photos of the martyrs and flags of the resistance," as "the highest symbol of steadfastness, resistance and victory."
Hezbollah added that those scenes represent Israel's "defeat," persisting "since the year 2000," referencing the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation.
The party stressed that "the armed people-resistance equation that protects Lebanon from the treachery of the enemies is not a slogan, but a reality lived daily by the Lebanese, who actualize it with their resistance and their sacrifices."
Finally, Hezbollah called on “all Lebanese” to support the residents of southern Lebanon and urged “the guarantor countries of the agreement,” specifically the United States and France, to “assume their responsibilities in the face of the violations and crimes of the Israeli enemy and compel a complete withdrawal from our lands.”
