What does the history of Beaufort Castle tell us? That, nearly ten centuries after its construction by the Crusaders — although the site was likely fortified before their arrival — it remains a strategic military position overlooking a vast area between Lebanon and Israel? That it was conquered by Saladin, and subsequently controlled by the Ayyubids, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the French, the Palestinians, and the Israelis ? That it embodies both the power of conquest and the limits of force in a region contested by empires for more than a millennium? Or should we, on the contrary, draw nothing from its history, so as not to reinforce the notion, already deeply rooted in Lebanon, that our geography condemns us to endlessly relive the same history ?
Twenty-six years after the liberation of the South, the Israeli flag flies again over the citadel. The symbolism is painful. It rekindles memories of the darkest moments of Israel’s occupation and raises fears of a new period of prolonged occupation, or even a lasting fragmentation of southern Lebanon.
The week has been a dark one for Lebanon. The Israelis are carrying out massive bombardments in the South, including the two major cities of Sour and Nabatieh, and are continuing their ground advances, emptying village after village before erasing them completely from the map and from memory. How far will they go ? As far as the Zahrani River? Until an agreement is signed between the United States and Iran? Until international pressure forces them to stop?
Israel will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to achieve its objectives. Everyone knew this even before this new war began, particularly Hezbollah. It is prepared to raze southern Lebanon, displace hundreds of thousands of people, and kill thousands of civilians in order to put an end to Hezbollah’s presence on its northern border. Hezbollah, no less uncompromising than its foe, is in turn prepared to sacrifice the South and all its inhabitants in order to justify maintaining its arsenal in service of its Iranian patron.
And Lebanon once again finds itself trapped, in an even more inextricable situation than in 2024, between two monsters that will destroy it and/or devour it. How can it get out of this?
A segment of Lebanese society is betting that this offensive will finally make it possible to rid the country of the militia that has held it hostage for decades. But this is a Faustian bargain doomed to failure. Not only is the price Lebanon would have to pay unbearable — how does one rebuild a country in ruins? — but Israel will also fail to eradicate Hezbollah. It may significantly weaken it militarily, but the party will continue to recruit new members, build new weapons, and receive new funding, all the more so if an agreement between Washington and Tehran entails unfreezing part of Iran’s assets.
Hezbollah will find it difficult to justify such human and material losses to its support base, but the Israeli presence will be enough to restore a semblance of legitimacy to it as a « resistance movement. » And who, in any case, would dare challenge it in the midst of a confrontation with the historic enemy? Even simple statements from citizens of Sour and Nabatieh calling for their cities to be spared from the fighting were met with strong threats from Hezbollah supporters.
Israel has devastated the Gaza Strip without managing to dislodge Hamas. How can one believe the outcome will be different in Lebanon, despite the presence of a state supposedly hostile to the party ?
The problem is that the alternative also leads to a dead end. Assuming that Israel were to halt its offensive, finally respect the cease-fire, and even withdraw from southern Lebanon, what would happen next? Is there still anyone who believes that Hezbollah would not reassert control over this area and use it to rebuild its forces in preparation for the next battle ? Is there still anyone who believes it would agree, regardless of Israeli behaviour, to lay down its arms and become just another political party? Here too, past experiences speak for themselves.
If Israel advances, Lebanon will be destroyed. If it retreats, Hezbollah will do everything it can to bring it back under its control.
Waiting for a solution to come from outside will only reinforce our position as spectators of our own history. Especially since, here too, we should have learned the lessons of the past: in the unlikely event that Lebanon were included in any regional agreement, it would most likely be at our expense.
Lebanon can only be saved by the Lebanese. We repeat this again and again, but the facts unfortunately prove us right. We have no other choice but to reach an agreement with Israel to recover the entirety of our territory. And we have no other choice but to neutralize Hezbollah in order to restore our full sovereignty.
It is a complex process that will take time, and will require military, financial, and political support, and which, above all, will involve a political dialogue with the Shiite community, with which, whatever hostility one may have toward Hezbollah, ties must never be severed. But it is a process that must be launched as a matter of urgency, by stopping the belief that our verbal commitments alone will be enough to restore the credibility we have entirely lost, or worse, that time is on our side.
We must deploy all our diplomatic strength to stop the Israeli aggression and, at the same time, begin taking strong measures that demonstrate genuine intent — regardless of the difficulty and the time it may take — to politically and then militarily neutralize Hezbollah.
It is time for our president and army chief to understand that the greatest risk today is not the collapse of the armed forces, but the irrevocable loss of an entire part of Lebanon.
This editorial first appeared in French on L'Orient-Le Jour and was translated by Joelle El Khoury.
Trump says US will resume attacks if Iran does not restrain Hezbollah allies
Isrel cannot do the work for lebanese. Lebanese should not, not disarm hezbollah because it is good for israel, but because it would be good for lebanon. The benefit to lebanese would be 10 fold the benefit to israel. That should be enough. In other words, one win for israel, 10 wins for lebanon. The equation is rathe simple, no hezbollah, no israel in south lebanon.
02 June 2026 05:13