Lebanon will intensify political and diplomatic pressure to secure a “complete Israeli withdrawal” from occupied areas, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said during a visit to a southern village where the Lebanese army recently deployed.
“We will continue mobilising our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south,” he told residents in Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
Israeli troops had previously maintained a presence on the village’s outskirts following the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Mr Salam arrived a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, where he “stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory”.
Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam plants the Lebanese flag (Credit: Lebanese prime minister’s office/handout)
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the agreement and continues to refuse to surrender its weapons.
The Lebanese military said yesterday that Israeli forces “opened fire” near soldiers deploying in Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
Israel’s military said it fired only “warning shots into the air” after Lebanese troops entered an area that was “not part of the pilot area”.
Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the wider Middle East war when it attacked Israel in support of Tehran on 2 March, triggering major Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.
After raising a Lebanese flag in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Mr Salam said: “In parallel with the army’s deployment, we will continue opening roads, removing rubble, and securing essential services, enabling our people to return safely and with dignity to their homes and villages.”
Lebanese soldiers patrol the entrance to Zawtar al-Gharbiya after the army deployed to the village
‘Heads held high’
The conflict left extensive destruction, particularly across southern Lebanon, although the violence has eased since a framework agreement between the United States and Iran was signed last month, along with the Lebanon-Israel deal.
More than 700,000 people have returned home in recent weeks, according to the United Nations.
At the entrance to Zawtar al-Gharbiya, dozens of residents gathered as they waited for permission to inspect their homes.
“We will enter the town with our heads held high, thanks to the presence of the Lebanese army,” Abbas Yaghi, 73, told AFP.
On Tuesday, the military instructed residents not to enter the village “until the security situation stabilises”.
Lebanese troops are now sweeping the town, which is geographically contiguous with the neighbouring Israeli-occupied village of Zawtar al-Shariqya.
Israeli forces continue to carry out intermittent strikes on nearby towns, with the latest hitting Nabatieh al-Fawqa. “We will follow the army if it gives us permission to enter,” said Mostapha Ammar, a 60-year-old resident of Zawtar al-Sharqiya who voiced hope that Israel would withdraw from other areas.
Wafaa Ismail, 64, also from Zawtar al-Sharqiya, was denied permission to enter the neighbouring village during Salam’s visit.
She said she was frustrated to watch the prime minister enter without residents, accompanied by the army, adding: “He should have brought the people in with him so he could claim victory.”
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