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EDITORIAL

Army, people… state


Army, people… state

Photo circulating on social networks of the army protecting residents returning to their villages in South Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

“My son is still there. His body has been lying on the ground for three months. Let me through.”

“He’s your son, and he’s also my brother. Please, understand, we’re keeping you away for your own good.”

This exchange — between a woman from southern Lebanon trying, like many others, to make her way back to the still-occupied border villages, and a Lebanese soldier forming a human barricade with his comrades to protect them — perfectly encapsulates the events of Sunday.

The army’s mission was to shield southern residents from provocations by both Hezbollah and Israel. Despite the impossible circumstances, it held its ground — much to the frustration of the pro-Iranian party, which likely envisioned a very different scenario for what was supposed to mark the return of the “resistance” to southern Lebanon.

“There will be a before and after Jan.26,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned recently [referring to the cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah, according to which the Israeli forces were to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon].

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What if peace returned?

But why haven’t we seen the “resistance” translate its words into action against the occupier and its continuous violations of the cease-fire agreement?

On Jan. 26, all pretenses fell away. Those who were truly present and stood as the real resistance were the people of southern Lebanon and the Lebanese Army. They are the ones who dared to face danger, the ones who paid with their lives on the path to liberation.

As for Hezbollah, it relied on the only weapon it had left: hiding behind civilians ready to die to reclaim their dignity. And shifting blame onto others — in this case, the Lebanese Army — while avoiding accountability for its own failures.

 The toll of this treachery: 22 dead, including at least two soldiers, killed by Israeli gunfire. A tragic outcome, no doubt. 

But it could have been far worse.

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The new era will also be Shiite … or it won’t be!

Let’s be clear: If a bloodbath was avoided on Sunday, it is because neither the Lebanese Army nor the residents of southern Lebanon fell into the trap set by a faction willing to resort to any cowardice to avoid facing the consequences of its defeat. 

Waving a few Hezbollah flags, over the rubble, chanting hollow slogans and shouting “victory” will not change reality.

Hezbollah made a monumental error in declaring a “support” war for Gaza over a year ago. Not only was the Palestinian coastal enclave not liberated, but a portion of southern Lebanon has been reoccupied.

After the defeat agreements signed first in Lebanon and then in Gaza, Hezbollah and Hamas are left with little more than mediocre displays, feeble posturing and an excess of populism.

“Our people succeeded in thwarting the equations the enemy sought to impose,” boasted Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad on Sunday morning. “We bow to the greatness of the people of the resistance and affirm that the ‘army, people, resistance’ equation that protects Lebanon is not an empty slogan,” the group proclaimed in an evening statement, triumphantly portraying it as a victory. 

All the party is trying to do is revive the infamous tripartite formula buried on Nov. 26 [the day the cease-fire took effect], aiming to impose new dynamics on the domestic political scene.

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In Lebanon, the beginning of a new era?

Cornered, Hezbollah spent the entire day orchestrating a carefully staged media campaign revolving around one message: The residents themselves returned and liberated the villages, paving the way for an army incapable of doing so.

But no one is fooled. The army had already begun the long and arduous task of liberation, struggling to implement an agreement that Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, along with the government sponsoring them, were ultimately forced to accept — including the hidden clauses that give the Israeli enemy the green light to continue its violations.

This is an agreement that Hezbollah itself has failed to honor.

If, throughout the day, the Israelis were forced to withdraw from other villages, it was because the army did not abandon the residents to face danger alone.

After urging them to show restraint and place their trust in the armed forces, President Joseph Aoun — former commander of the army until recently — set the tone in the early hours of this long day. 

“The Lebanese Army will always stand by your side,” Aoun said. “It will always be wherever you are and will remain committed to your protection.” 

On Jan. 26, the picture was crystal clear: The residents of southern Lebanon left their villages because of Hezbollah and returned to them with the Lebanese Army.

This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour by Sahar Ghoussoub.

“My son is still there. His body has been lying on the ground for three months. Let me through.”“He’s your son, and he’s also my brother. Please, understand, we’re keeping you away for your own good.”This exchange — between a woman from southern Lebanon trying, like many others, to make her way back to the still-occupied border villages, and a Lebanese soldier forming a human...