An Ogero center in the Badaro neighborhood in Beirut. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient Today.)
During a visit to South Lebanon on Wednesday, Telecom Minister Charles Hage told the local channel al-Jadeed that network coverage for both telephony and Internet, fixed and mobile, had been restored in 80% of areas in South Lebanon.
He specified that the remaining 20% were still without coverage, due to destructions and the "continuing Israeli occupation."
Hage was speaking during a tour of the region, during which he inspected Alfa, Touch, and Ogero transmission stations damaged in the recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The goal was to assess repairs and maintenance work undertaken to restore phone and Internet coverage in the affected areas.
On Wednesday morning, the minister visited the village of Rmeich (Bint Jbeil district), where he met with local representatives as well as the regional Ogero center. He was also scheduled to visit Sour and Nabatieh later in the day.
Conflict and damage
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began in October 2023, alongside the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, and intensified in Sept. 2024. A cease-fire was reached at the end of Nov. 2024, but it has been violated multiple times by Israel since. Although the Israeli army withdrew from Lebanese villages before Feb. 18, it maintains its presence at five points considered "strategic" in Lebanese territory.
About a week after the ceasefire agreement, former Telecom Minister Johnny Corm visited Beirut's southern suburbs to inspect the Ogero telephone exchange, damaged by an Israeli strike in the Mrayjeh neighborhood.
In an interview with Radio Sputnik and relayed in December by the National News Agency (NNA), the minister then estimated the losses suffered by the Lebanese telecom sector at between $88 and $117 million, according to a preliminary assessment.
