Screenshot of a video circulating on social media
"We are all here under Hezbollah's guns! All of you are under Hezbollah's boot." These statements, attributed to an armed man on Sunday evening by residents of Doha Aramoun (Aley) who allegedly refused to rent an apartment to displaced people, have sparked controversy on social media.
They have also triggered anger among populations increasingly upset with Hezbollah, which, during the night of March 1-2, launched rockets from Lebanon into Israel, prompting intense Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs, and North Bekaa, as well as mass displacements as a result.
In a video posted on X by journalist Mariam Majdoline Laham, known for her hostility toward Hezbollah, an armed and visibly angry man makes these threats to residents of a building in this affluent suburb south of the capital.
The journalist names and identifies him as a member of Hezbollah, then addresses authorities in a sharp message: "A clear warning or a wake-up call: Either A.J. is arrested ... or the government's decisions will no longer have any real value."
Then, referring to the relentless crackdowns traditionally carried out by Hezbollah's security and military apparatus against its opponents, she asserts that this time is "over" and that, from now on, "the state will rule."
On social media, some say the armed man was arrested, such as the news account LebyNews, which shared a video allegedly filmed in the Aramoun area showing the arrival of a car carrying several armed men who threatened local residents.
The same account claims A.J. "has an armed group in Aramoun made up of 11 people." Others, however, deny this, criticizing the state's lack of responsiveness, such as Mariam Majdoline Laham: "False, no one was arrested. The location was raided, but the operation yielded no results," the journalist counters, reporting the anger of young people from the region who are "protesting in the street."
Contacted, the army's Directorate of Orientation said it learned about the incident through social media and had no further information. It acknowledged, however, that the risk of such incidents is high in the current circumstances. L'Orient-Le Jour was unable to reach military intelligence for comment.
Another incident occurred Saturday in Ain al-Rummaneh, the Christian-majority neighborhood of Beirut facing the Shiite-majority district of Chiyah.
According to the daily Nida' al-Watan, a shootout reportedly broke out when local youths chased and detained two unknown men in possession of documents containing information about Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, drop-off and pick-up points, and apartment keys.
Additionally, according to the site LebyNews, four armed young men allegedly tried to break into a pharmacy to rob it, before several young people intervened to stop and chase them off.
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