Residents of Khiam return to their village in front of a portrait of Hassan Nasrallah. (Credit: Rabih Daher/AFP)
It had been clear for several weeks that Israeli forces were not going to withdraw from the entirety of southern Lebanon at the end of the 60-day deadline provided for the implementation of the cease-fire agreement concluded between Israel and Hezbollah. Among the reasons cited by Israel was the claim that Hezbollah was not respecting the agreement and that the Lebanese Army had not fulfilled its mission to dismantle the pro-Iranian faction's stockpiles of weapons and missiles. The persistence of Israeli occupation is also linked to the search for new tunnels, particularly in the eastern sector. But even though the Israeli non-withdrawal was not a surprise, Lebanon did everything possible to avoid this scenario, which puts it in an untenable position between the two belligerents.Beirut initially rejected the idea of extending the...
It had been clear for several weeks that Israeli forces were not going to withdraw from the entirety of southern Lebanon at the end of the 60-day deadline provided for the implementation of the cease-fire agreement concluded between Israel and Hezbollah. Among the reasons cited by Israel was the claim that Hezbollah was not respecting the agreement and that the Lebanese Army had not fulfilled its mission to dismantle the pro-Iranian faction's stockpiles of weapons and missiles. The persistence of Israeli occupation is also linked to the search for new tunnels, particularly in the eastern sector. But even though the Israeli non-withdrawal was not a surprise, Lebanon did everything possible to avoid this scenario, which puts it in an untenable position between the two belligerents.Beirut initially rejected the idea of extending the...
