Satelite images taken on October 24 show the tiny southern Lebanese village of Ramyah has almost been wiped off the map. In a neighboring village, satellite photos show a similar scene: a hill once covered with houses, now reduced to a gray smear of rubble. Israel’s main interest was reportedly to create a buffer zone so that its citizens can return safely to homes in the north
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam headed to south Lebanon on Friday to inspect the destruction and said the reconstruction of towns and homes destroyed by Israel is a top priority of his government.
“The government is seeking to win residents’ confidence through deeds, not only words, and it had started prior to winning (parliament’s) confidence to rally every possible Arab and international support in order to compel the enemy to withdraw from our land and the so-called five points, because there can be no real and sustainable stability without a full Israeli withdrawal,” Salam went on to say.
Salam was accompanied by Environment Minister Tamara al-Zein. Energy Minister Joe Saddi and Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny .
The destruction was the result of the war that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group launched against Israel on Oct 8, 2023
Israel wants to remain indefinitely in the buffer zone , for the same reason it never withdrew from northern Ghajar at the end of the 2006 war with Hezbollah
According to Lebanese observers , before solving any problem in Lebanon we should look first for the root of the problem . The reason that tens of thousands of homes were destroyed in south Lebanon is because of Hezbollah and its arms . For this reason before any reconstruction takes place Hezbollah should hand over its arms to the Lebanese army.
Since its allegiance is to Iran and not Lebanon its main interest is increasing Iran’s influence and not defending Lebanon.
Lebanon should not repeat the mistake of 2006 when Arab Gulf countries donated billions of dollars for reconstructing the thousands of Shiite homes that were destroyed during the war .
As long as Hezbollah continues to hold onto its arms it will continue to be a threat for Lebanon and nothing will stop it from launching another war against Israel if it will serve Iran’s interest .
Before asking other countries to help , both PM Salam and president Aoun should do their homework . Not one penny should be spent on reconstruction before Hezbollah is disarmed