Investigation into the burning of an army support billboard on the airport road

A billboard supporting the Lebanese Army, put up on the airport road, was set on fire late Wednesday night, according to images circulating online.

By Thursday morning, the billboard — bearing the inscription “We're all with you,” alongside an image of the Lebanese flag and a soldier standing at attention — was partially burned.

Contacted for comment, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) said this billboard was damaged overnight, while others from the same campaign still line the road linking the airport to downtown Beirut. This road has previously displayed images of figures from the “axis of resistance,” most notably former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

According to a security source, an investigation is being conducted by army intelligence to identify and bring those responsible to justice. The intelligence services were not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as the Lebanese Army has been tasked by the government with disarming Hezbollah, specifically south of the Litani River by the end of December, under the plan presented to the Cabinet on Sept. 5. The party, for its part, has categorically refused to discuss disarmament as long as the Israeli army remains present at positions it occupies near the border and continues to strike Lebanese territory almost daily. Israel, meanwhile, claims its operations aim to prevent the rebuilding of pro-Iranian forces.

This is the second such incident this year. In April, two billboards — showing an aerial view of Jounieh Bay (Kesrouan) topped by a large Lebanese flag with the slogan “A new era for Lebanon” — were set on fire shortly after being put up on the same road.