Burnt construction equipment at the site bombed by Israel in Msayleh, Oct. 11, 2025. (Photo: Muntasser Abdallah / L'Orient Today)
Several Lebanese state officials condemned the massive Israeli strikes that destroyed hundreds of construction vehicles on Friday night into Saturday in Msayleh, southern Lebanon, starting with President Joseph Aoun. In addition to denouncing the attack on "civilian installations," he said the incident raises "fundamental challenges" for the country. Hezbollah, meanwhile, called on the state to "assume its responsibilities" in the face of an attack that 'cannot go unanswered.'
The strikes killed one, wounded seven and destroyed several hundred vehicles, including bulldozers and excavators, according to our correspondent. An initial estimate puts losses from these attacks in the millions of dollars.
"Once again, south Lebanon is the target of a flagrant Israeli aggression against civilian installations, without reason or even pretext," Aoun said in a message published on the presidency's X account. He stressed that these strikes are all the more serious as they come "after the cease-fire agreement in Gaza, and the Palestinians' approval of the mechanism provided by this agreement to limit weapons and render them unusable."
According to the president, this situation confronts the Lebanese people and the international community with "fundamental challenges," chief among them the question whether "some are trying to compensate" for the Gaza war by turning to Lebanon to pursue a political strategy based on "fire and death."
In what also seemed to be an appeal to Hezbollah, Aoun went on to ask to "support Lebanon" by respecting the terms of the truce, which "was accepted by all parties," saying that doing so is "common sense and elementary justice, since Lebanon was drawn into the Gaza war under the slogan of support" for Hamas.
On Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah opened what it called a "Support Front" the day after Oct. 7. "Our responsibility towards all the Lebanese people and throughout its territory requires us to address these challenges — not simply to settle for condemnation, however legitimate it may be, of a manifest aggression," he added.
'Aggression against Lebanon and all its people'
For his part, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has a residence a few hundred meters from the targeted site, said the strikes "will change nothing of our convictions and principles, nor those of our people, who, once again, pay with their lives, homes and livelihoods the price of their attachment to their land and their legitimate right to a dignified life."
"As always, this is not just an aggression against Msayleh, its residents and the business owners there, but an aggression against Lebanon and all its people," he added, calling for Lebanese unity in the face of these attacks.
He received a call from Druze leader Walid Joumblatt, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and his longtime ally, and who told him he too 'condemned the Israeli aggression,' the National News Agency (NNA) reports. Berri had harshly criticized the government on Thursday, accusing it of being completely disinterested in the inhabitants of South Lebanon, which prompted a response from Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
The latter, currently in Paris, followed throughout the day the 'repercussions' of the strikes on 'commercial and civilian infrastructure,' according to the Grand Serail on X. He contacted several ministers and the president of the South Council, Hashem Haidar, to inquire about the progress of clearing operations. He also asked the president of the High Relief Committee, Bassam Naboulsi, to compensate those affected.
Equipment used by the Ministry of Public Works
Given the nature of the target, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny visited the strike site and reportedly spoke of "a 100 percent targeting of a civilian institution," in an indirect answer to the Israeli army, which claimed on X that it had targeted Hezbollah 'infrastructure. The minister specified that the group of construction vehicles targeted was 'among the most important in south Lebanon' and that this equipment was 'regularly' used by his ministry.
Rasamny also said that Nawaf Salam, a Hezbollah foe within the state, "would have been on site had he not been abroad in France," adding that "everything Israel does aims to divide us, but the protection of the south and Lebanon lies in our unity — that's what protects us," according to the NNA.
The 'presence' of ministers alongside the residents of the South
Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar and Labor Minister Mohamad Haidar also visited the site with Amal Movement MP Hani Kobeissi. During the visit, Hajjar stressed, "what matters is our presence alongside the people of the south. As a government, we'll do everything necessary to ensure the protection of citizens and preserve their safety and stability." He also emphasized that "all Lebanese stand behind the army." Haidar, affiliated with Hezbollah in the Cabinet, underscored the importance of unity "in the face of this enemy attacking innocents."
Kobeissi, for his part, praised the government's 'honorable stance, which shows we are united in the face of the aggression.' The night’s bombings targeted equipment 'that would have been used to rebuild the South, which Israel does not want,' he added.
Finally, the Foreign Ministry noted what it called a "violation" of the cease-fire agreement of Nov. 27, 2024, in a statement. The ministry said, "the continuation of these [Israeli] aggressions is likely to hinder the national efforts being made by the Lebanese Army as part of its plan to confine weapons to legitimate forces and to preserve the security and stability of south Lebanon.'
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