Lebanonupdated 1h ago3 min read
Nawaf Salam Warns Hezbollah Against Another Reckless Adventure at Baabda Presidential Palace
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Salam warned Hezbollah not to drag Lebanon into another war if Washington–Tehran conflict resumes. He cautioned against new futile adventures in service of outside interests.
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Salam warns Hezbollah
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace and warned against dragging Lebanon into “another reckless adventure” in the service of outside interests. Salam told reporters that “The decision of war and peace is the exclusive domain of the state and its constitutional institutions,” and he said Lebanon’s people, especially those in the south, have paid “a heavy price” in lives, livelihoods, homes, and displacement. Salam also condemned “Lebanese individuals or groups in the internal affairs of Arab countries,” after Yemen’s interior minister Ibrahim Ali Haidan said seven Hezbollah members were among 21 foreign military experts working alongside the pro-Iranian Houthis in Yemen.
The reporting described Iran-backed Hezbollah as having twice pulled Lebanon into a war with Israel in as many years, and it said Israel launched a major military campaign in Lebanon after Hezbollah attacks in March, killing more than 4,300 people. Hezbollah denied involvement in managing Houthi military operations or developing the group’s military, weapons and training capabilities, saying the accusations were "entirely baseless" and unsupported by facts.
Israel presses Beirut
Israel said it pressed Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from joining renewed war with Iran, and it asked the Lebanese government to deploy troops to set up roadblocks in areas where Hezbollah operatives live. Jerusalem warned Beirut via US mediators that “fighting will flare up again if Hezbollah attacks Israel,” and US mediators relayed the request. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said last week that several key issues remain unsolved, and he said the Lebanese state and army were prepared to address security concerns through “official mechanisms and established coordination channels” rather than military action.
The reporting said Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Israel-US war with Iran on March 2, and it described massive Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon before an agreement to end the conflict was reached in June. The Times of Israel said negotiations were hampered by Hezbollah’s refusal to comply with a deal calling for the IDF to withdraw from areas of south Lebanon it held in parallel with the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting with so-called pilot zones.
Shelling and local frictions
Israeli strikes did not stop in south Lebanon, and overnight artillery shelling hit Baraashit, al-Mansouri, Wadi Zebqine, al-Qantara, and the outskirts of Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh. Israeli forces continued their demolition of occupied villages, burning homes in Hadatha, and the National News Agency reported stun grenades thrown at farmers in Halta, near Kfarshouba. In parallel, Alma Research and Education Center described tensions between Hezbollah and Amal in Hallousiyah, in the Tyre district, where Amal representatives threatened to resign after a dispute over naming the village’s main street.
The report said Hezbollah representatives insisted on commemorating Nasrallah alone, while Amal representatives proposed naming the street jointly after Musa al-Sadr and Hassan Nasrallah, and it said Amal representatives opposed putting the matter to a vote. Alma Research and Education Center added that in January 2021, five council members affiliated with Amal held a boycott of council meetings for more than three months, including over the placement of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization emblem on an ambulance registered as council property.