Lebanon’s president made a rare visit to a southern city Saturday, close to where Israel captured a strategic hill, amid fears of more Israeli attacks.
President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Nabatiyeh came after Israel seized parts of Ali Taher ridge earlier this month, where Israeli officials said they had blown up Hezbollah tunnel networks, despite a June 20, U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group.
The ceasefire largely halted active fighting, which began on March 2, when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran. However, Israel has continued attacks and airstrikes on areas in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has also fired explosive drones without claiming responsibility.
Heads of the crisis-hit nation’s security agencies accompanied Aoun, the state-run National News Agency reported. Some residents of Nabatiyeh have been calling on the army to boost its presence in the city in order to avoid a possible Israeli ground offensive.
A man told Aoun in footage aired on local TV stations residents want to feel secure and that their children are safe after being displaced and humiliated. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced over 1 million. Since the ceasefire was implemented, hundreds of thousands have returned to their homes in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Aoun said the state will follow up on the needs of the residents “so that you stay here.”
Lebanon and Israel have held several rounds of direct talks in Washington and Rome. The State Department announced Friday that the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks will be held in Rome in October.
Hezbollah rejects direct talks with Israel and has called on the government to abolish the framework agreement reached in June.